One Last Time, I'll Fight
by FierySprites
Summary: "King Dedede demands revenge! Will he finally reign victorious over his age-old nemesis?" The opening and climax of Revenge of the King, retold from Kirby and Dedede's eyes. ['Make a Friend' Fic]
1. It's Time to Finish This, Kirby

**One Last Time, I'll Fight**

 _ **Chapter 1  
**_ _It's Time to Finish This, Kirby_

(Uploaded on November 24, 2018)

* * *

 **Summary:** A letter is delivered to Kirby as he sits in the Purple Plants. The contents: an issue of a final challenge, to settle the score once and for all.

"King Dedede wants revenge! Careful, **he's serious this time!** "

 **Notes:** This fic is set during _Revenge of the King,_ from _Kirby Super Star Ultra._

* * *

 **[King Dedede]**

 **Castle Dedede – Throne Room**

Dark clouds hovered in the skies above my castle. Very little actual light was actually emitted from the windows into the throne room, and there was nary a sound at all except the lightning bolts striking from outside.

I didn't mind it. The atmosphere was just right for my mind right now.

With nothing more than a portable lamp turned on close to my throne and a pen in my hand, I continued to write a letter to my age-old nemesis. Bandana Dee – my trusty assistant, and probably my closest confidant – looked at me with worried eyes, but I paid him no mind. I needed utmost concentration for this.

It's been over sixteen years since Kirby first came to Pop Star. Sixteen years since I stole all the food (and the Sparkling Stars) from Dream Land. Sixteen years since he first defeated me and put everything back where it should've been.

Sixteen years of friendship and rivalry, of ups and downs and all arounds. We've fought each other so many times since then, for a myriad of reasons – be it the Star Rod, possession by Dark Matter, or even over a simple slice of cake. But now?

This isn't about the fate of the world. This isn't about a traditional clash between good and evil.

This is a matter of _pride._

 _(…_ _ **My**_ _pride.)_

Another bolt of lightning struck down outside, briefly illuminating the room with a flash of light. I continued penning the words I wanted to say down, carefully writing each letter in a legible fashion befitting my status as a king. All the while, no one – not my guards, not Dee – said a single word.

At last, I finished the letter. I folded it in half, placed it inside an envelope, and sealed with a Dedede stamp. I stood up from my throne, the envelope still in hand.

It was time.

"G-Great King…" Bandana Dee finally found the courage to speak up. I let my face turn to him, never once straying from my serious expression. "A-Are… Are you _sure_ you w-want to—to do this…?" His eyes were the most anxious I've ever seen them. Not even during the final Dark Matter crisis did he ever look like that.

"I—I mean… K-Kirby doesn't… Kirby doesn't really care about this—this rivalry thing! It's—It's not like you _have_ to d-do it at all!" he pleaded with me. "And I d-don't know what'll happen if—if you _do_ go through with it! You, you might get _hurt,_ and—and Kirby, too! P-Please…" Tears built up in the corner of his eyes. "Don't… Don't do this."

Dee was always a loyal friend, to both me and Kirby. I admire that aspect of him. Really, I do. It's what makes him such a good guy (far more than me, if I'm being honest). I wouldn't want him to choose between either of us – but the situation won't let him, unfortunately. (And I can't do anything about it, either.)

I closed my eyes. "…I'm sorry, Dee," I said, "but I have to. This rivalry between me and Kirby has gone on long enough. I need to settle this. I need to."

For too long, I've always ended up the loser in our matches. I can learn some of Kirby's skills; I can fight him on equal ground; I can have my Waddle Dees and Doos by my side… and it's always— _always_ —never enough.

I'm tired of that.

Once, I would've just treated him as my nemesis out of rage and adolescence. Out of a sense of obligation, maybe. But I've come a long way since then, and I'm ready to close out this chapter of my life for good.

I have to do this. I have to prove I'm better than him.

Because if I can't win against him, despite all my efforts…

…then what good am I as a king, self-proclaimed or not?

"B-But—what am _I_ supposed to d-do, then!? I like Kirby _and_ you, Great King! I—I can't choose between either of you! You, you guys…!"

"It's fine if you want to be by Kirby's side," I interrupted him, eyes still closed. "I'm not about to force you to decide who you want to follow. All I want to do…" I opened my eyes and clenched my fist, the one that wasn't holding the letter. "…is show Kirby what's for, once and for all."

"G-Great King…!?"

I've prepared for this day. I've taken three out of Dream Land's five Sparkling Stars and given them to old guardians. I've powered them up as well, and sent out several more of my generals out into the field for Kirby to face off against. I've even given my castle a bit of a makeover, just for this occasion.

It's high time that pink puffball got what he deserved. It's time I finally go all-out on him. No more games. No more playfulness.

Whatever it takes, I _will_ reign victorious over him.

…whatever it takes.

Dee shivered, repeatedly glancing between me and the door to my throne room. He was conflicted – but that's not surprising. While he was doing that, I held up the letter with the seal on it, making sure it was still crisp and clean. (It was.) I gestured for one of my Waddle Dees to come over, and he obediently followed, spear still in hand.

"Waddle Dee," I stated. I handed him the letter. "Take this letter, and deliver it to Kirby, wherever he may be. Make sure he opens it; don't leave until he actually does. That's an order, alright?"

He nodded, took the envelope, and saluted to me, as was Waddle Dee custom. He ran out of the throne room to fulfill my command, just as another flash of lightning shone through the windows. (How dramatic.) Dee's gaze lingered upon his exiting brethren for several moments, as if he was debating with himself whether or not he should follow.

I was gazing at the Waddle Dee for a different reason. _It's finally gonna begin. My final **r**_ _ **evenge**_ _. There's no stopping it now._ I sat down in my throne in anticipation, drumming my fingers on the side of my throne to keep them exercised. "…here we go," I muttered. "It's time to get serious."

(Kirby'll never see this coming, surely.)

After spinning his head around for the better part of three minutes, Bandana Dee made his decision. "…I'll stay with you, Great King!" he declared to me. "I—I won't let you face this alone!" He walked up to me, and though he didn't have any weapon by his side, I could see an unwavering, burning determination in his eyes. "If you're—if you're g-going to do this, then I'll be with you while you fight! It's my duty as your loyal retainer!"

I smiled a little. "…thanks, Bandana Dee," I said. It'll be nice to have a friend by my side while I do this. "…I really appreciate it."

I glared confidently toward the door, both sides of my vision lined up with a row of my spear-holding Dee guards. More lightning flashed past the windows, once more adding to the dark atmosphere that was flowing through the room. (I could've just turned on the lights, honestly – but it really doesn't matter.) From a nearby window, I caught a glimpse of Kabula – newly reactivated and newly upgraded; another edge against Kirby should he actually make it – soaring in the skies, ready to take down any intruder that comes our way.

This is it.

This is really it.

 _Get ready, Kirby,_ I thought vindictively. _Because today—you're going to lose. You're finally going to lose._

 _And for once,_ _ **I'll**_ _be triumphant._

 _Just you wait._

* * *

 **[Kirby]**

 **Dream Land – Purple Plants**

 _Something's up._

That thought rang through my head repeatedly throughout this entire morning. I don't know why I'm thinking it, or what even the 'something' _is,_ but I just know—

 _Something's up._

I stared out into the purple scenery that made up—well, Purple Plants. I don't normally come here, primarily because I think all the purple really does not suit a grassy Green Greens-esque plain like this.

Like—c'mon. The color scheme clashes so hard. Adeleine would agree with me, totally.

But there's something else worth noting about Purple Plants: it has far more hard-hitting—and hostile—creatures than Green Greens does. You might say it's more of an ' **Extra Game** ' area than a 'Normal Game' area, if you get what I mean. Steering clear of this place is a thing most Dream Landers tend to do – but I can handle most things that come my way, so it really doesn't matter for me.

The reason I'm here is—of course—because of the weird 'something' that I'm currently feeling. Call me what you like, but you can't deny I've got pretty good instincts – and instinct, for some reason, just drew me to this place. Something important's gonna happen here in just a few more moments. I just don't know what it'll be.

I sighed. "I wonder what Dedede's doing right now," I wondered, sitting beneath a bushy, purple-leaf tree. "It's been a while since I've heard from him." I'd like to believe that we've become like frenemies at this point, kind of like Mario and Bowser, or Sonic and Eggman, or Link and Ganondorf (okay, that last one might be a stretch). We've helped each other plenty of times, too, the Crystal Shards hunt being one of the more significant contributions he's made. I wouldn't have been able to get all of them without him, and I'm sure Ribbon will be eternally grateful for that.

Recently however, Dedede's been a bit dissatisfied, for whatever reason. Sure, we still have our regular clashes (that I typically come on top of), but he hasn't taken as much enjoyment out of them as of late. And whenever I try to ask what's wrong, he just… brushes me off and goes back to his business. He doesn't even react to my usual sassy comments; that's how I _know_ he's not acting normal.

I'm worried about him. We may not be that close, but… whatever's going on, I hope we can at least talk about it, you know?

"…it's been half an hour since I got here," I said aloud, standing up from my sitting place, "and nothing's happened yet." Strange. My instinct's never let me wrong before. Except the whole Squeak Squad debacle, but that was a one-time thing. Hmm…

"I should get moving," I decided. "Who knows, maybe that 'something' I'm feeling will be somewhere else in this place." I might see some of my old Helpers while I'm at it, too. I haven't gone on an adventure with them since 1996; it'd be great to hang out with everyone again, just like the good old days. Waddle Doo and Bonkers and GIM and… everybody.

(Little did I know, however…)

But before I could take any step forward, something came rushing in toward me out of the corner of my eye. "Huh?" I blinked.

I turned to look at the newcomer. It was a simple Waddle Dee. One of Dedede's, actually. He was dashing right at me, a letter in his hand and most likely, it was meant for me. "Kirby!" the Waddle Dee called. When he finally caught up, he handed me the envelope. "The Great King has written this to you. He wants you to read it."

"From Dedede? …well, alright." I'd never turn down a letter from… an almost-friend, let's call him that. What could he want though? I mean, if he wanted to tell me something, he could just do it in person. It's not like we're on bad terms or anything.

But if he so insists… who am I to question our esteemed king?

I opened the envelope and read the letter's contents.

…

…

…

…oh.

 _Oh._

I think I've found the 'something' that I was looking for.

* * *

 _Kirby,_

 _It's time we settled the score. You've beaten me in our escapades for far too long, and now is the time I put the kibosh on it for good._

 _I've taken three of the Sparkling Stars (no food this time; this is a matter of pride) and given them to some of my old lieutenants – Whispy Woods, Lololo and Lalala, and Kracko. But they're not like how they used to be, oh no. They've been powered up: stronger, faster, and—most definitely—seeking revenge!_

 _In fact, you'll find that my whole army's ready for you this time! I've trained them hard especially for this, and now's the time to finally put that hard-earned experience to good use. Everyone's here to kick your puffy butt back to the star you came from. There's no way you can win this time, but if you want to try…_

 _Collect the Sparkling Stars from the Purple Plants, the Illusion Islands, and the Crash Clouds, and bring them up to Castle Dedede. There, we'll put our long-standing grudge to rest – and you'll find I won't be going down easy this time. I've put in some hours into training as well, and I'm just as ready as everyone else in my troop. I will emerge triumphant in the coming duel, I promise you that._

 _This is my final_ _ **revenge**_ _. I won't be holding anything back._

 _Come and prove your courage… that is, if you dare to._

 _I'll be waiting for you, Kirby._

 _Don't disappoint me._

– _King Dedede_

* * *

I read the letter, and then re-read it, and then re-read it again. I bit my lip. "…so this is your game," I stated quietly.

He's gotten tired of playing nice. He's playing for keeps, this time. And that worries me.

Dedede's always been a strange one. He's stolen the people's food; he's acted as the villain in order to save everyone else; he's greedy, he's hungry, he cares for his Dees… He's a complex guy.

But for him to finally declare that he's going to be going all-out, in one final gambit to take me down…

…I don't know what to think.

If Mario was here right now, he'd probably know what to say, or what to do. He's been feuding with Bowser longer than I have with Dedede, which means he's got plenty of experience over this type of matter. He was around for my first clash with Dedede, funnily enough.

He's not here, though – and I've never gotten anywhere by just relying on others to do the work for me.

So, that means…

I have to face Dedede myself.

…

…Bandana Dee's not here.

Normally, he wouldn't pass a chance delivering things to me.

That means he must be standing by his 'Great King'.

…That makes sense. He may be my friend – but he's loyal to Dedede, too. I can't fault him for that. He's been with him through all the ups and downs. And if he can't stop Dedede from doing this, it only makes sense he'll want to be on his side in the case the worst happens.

…heh.

'The worst.'

…Is this going to affect our relationships negatively?

Are our friendships – or almost-friendships, in Dedede's case – going to break under the strain of this 'final revenge'?

Will _Dee_ be able to handle it? He may be strong in his own way, but I know it'll be hard for him to watch his two best friends fight like this…

…and I don't know about you, but… I don't want to hurt Dee.

I don't want to hurt Dedede, either.

I just want us all to be friends. Good friends.

Best friends, even.

That's just who I am. From the day I was born into this galaxy, to the day I started living on Pop Star… that's the way I've always rolled.

I don't want it all to fall apart just because of something like this.

(And something tells me Dee feels the same way.)

But I won't accomplish anything just sitting here. If Dedede wants a showdown, then by golly, he's gonna get a showdown. And maybe – just maybe – it'll be enough to put an end to this.

…and then, perhaps, we could be friends for real.

I put the letter down on the grass and nodded to myself. To the Waddle Dee, I said, "Thanks for bringing this to me. Tell Dedede… I accept his challenge." I stared out into the Purple Plants where I knew the first Sparkling Star would be located. _Looks like the Helper reunion's gonna start in a different way than I intended,_ I chuckled.

"Very well," the Waddle Dee replied. "I shall inform Great King of this at once." As he retreated back the way he came, I made my way into the heart of the grasslands, riding in on that ever-so-familiar spring breeze.

And just as Dedede said, several of his troops – and the other hostiles from the Purple Plants – awaited me as I continued, bearing their arms and pointing them at my presence. I wasted no time taking a fighting stance of my own. Kookers, Perots, Bio Sparks, Waddle Doos; creatures of all kinds were glaring at me, and I wasn't about to show any trace of fear as I glared back. No Copy Ability or not, I can handle this.

 _Alright, Dedede,_ I thought determinedly. _You say you're not gonna hold anything back?_

 _I won't either. It's time I show off what I can really do._

 _I'm not the savior of Pop Star for nothing._

 _Prepare yourself—'cause I'll be the one to emerge victorious, just like always!_

* * *

 **Ha ha ha ha ha! More** _ **Kirby**_ **fics,** _ **more! You're never going to escape them! HA HA HA HA!**_

 _ **Ahem!**_ **So… originally, I was just going to rewrite the ending cutscene from** _ **Revenge of the King.**_ **Then I decided, let's do the entirety of the game's climax. Why not? It might be fun.**

 _ **Revenge of the King**_ **is notable because – prior to** _ **Kirby Battle Royale**_ **– it was the last canonical time Dedede truly held an antagonistic role against Kirby. And he really went all-out, too, what with the EX Bosses, the** _ **Kirby's Adventure**_ **mid-bosses, and even Masked Dedede himself. If I can rewrite Adeleine's boss fight adequately in** Intro to Painting **, why can't I do the same for Masked Dedede here?**

 **The game itself doesn't really provide much of a premise other than 'King Dedede wants revenge! Go beat him up!', so this chapter is my attempt to write something more substantial in its place. I have a headcanon that RotK was the point where Kirby and Dedede's relationship changed dramatically from 'frenemies' to 'best friends', and I really want to capture that moment for the** Make a Friend **'verse. Mind you, it'll take a few chapters, but I hope I'll be able to capture the moment well when it finally comes.**

 **Well, that's all for now – tune in next time for** _ **The Revenge™!**_


	2. Revenge of the King

**One Last Time, I'll Fight**

 _ **Chapter 2  
**_ _Revenge of the King_

(Uploaded on January 9, 2019)

* * *

 **Summary:** With the Aerial Fortress Kabula down for the count, Kirby—and his entourage of Helpers—charges into Castle Dedede for the final showdown – but there's plenty of opponents waiting for the puffball this time.

Dedede, meanwhile, is determined to finally best Kirby, and he's brought everything he's got in pursuit of this one goal. But as the Pink Terror makes his way closer and closer to the stadium, will he be able to keep true to his self-made promise?

(And when this rivalry finally ends… will there be any pieces left to pick up?)

 **Notes:** This chapter is set during the final stage, **The Revenge**.

* * *

 **VS. Kabula**

The Aerial Fortress has been reborn! After over a decade and a half of laying in storage, Dedede has reawakened Kabula and given her the ultimate upgrade! This battle blimp won't be going down easily – so take the Starship, Kirby, and show her what's for!

* * *

 **[Kirby]**

Three days later…

 **Mt. Dedede – Above Castle Dedede**

At last, Kabula became too impaired to remain in the skies, and—with her exterior heavily damaged and on fire—she started tumbling down to the ground, leaving me and my Helpers still flying and triumphant. _"Phew!"_ I wiped some sweat from my forehead. "Dedede's pulling out all the stops now," I muttered, staring at the falling Kabula all the while. "Didn't think I'd get to see _her_ again…"

The last time I had seen the Aerial Fortress Kabula, it was during my first adventure on Pop Star, when Dedede had stolen everyone's food. I had managed to dispatch her easily with the Mint Leaf then, and I hadn't seen her since. I thought she had been retired, but… times have changed, apparently.

Dedede was serious when he said he wouldn't be holding anything back this time. If it hadn't been for the three Sparkling Stars saving my bacon, I have no doubt my game would be over this time.

That blimp should not be allowed to make cannonballs that powerful.

Or Banzai Bills, for that matter.

"Hmph!" Birdon huffed, sitting behind me on the Starship. "Our esteemed 'king' could have at least brought that oversized balloon in politely!" She was undoubtedly pissed off from the surprise attack Kabula had done, though I have to admit it was a pretty good move. It takes a lot to get my Warp Star to shatter! "He's got some nerve, playing unfair like that!"

"Is such an attack really so unexpected?" a calm, wizened voice said. Riding a different Starship – a golden, more robotic one, whereas mine had a star-shaped cockpit and wings behind it – was another Helper of mine, Simirror. Evidently, he was rather unfazed from the battle that had just ensued. "In war, it is customary for one to unleash their trump cards when the enemy least expects it. In that regard, it was rather clever of King Dedede to attack us when we thought ourselves safe."

"Yeah, but that doesn't mean he had to send us _hurtling towards the ground!"_ Birdon hissed. "Do you _know_ what happens to birds that suffer a hard crash!? It's not pleasant, lemme tell you _that!_ When I get my hands on him, why I oughta…!"

"Calm down, Birdon!" I interrupted her, putting a hand on her wing to soothe her. "You can send complaints to Dedede later. Right now…" I turned the Starship around to face Castle Dedede. "…we've got business to take care of."

The skies may have been blue, and the clouds not too numerous, but the atmosphere around us remained tense. It's been three days since Dedede issued his final challenge to me, and now, with three Sparkling Stars in hand, we've finally made it. It's been a tough road getting here, even with Helpers by my side – you know your day is going to suck when even _Whispy freaking Woods_ can kick your butt without thinking – but now, it's time to end this whole thing once and for all.

…I'll admit, I'm a bit nervous.

I've never had to face something so… _personal_ like this before. It's one thing to face abominations like Zero and Drawcia. It's one thing to face villains-of-the-week like Nightmare and Dark Nebula. It's one thing to have the stakes be almost entirely impersonal, be 'merely' just a fight for the galaxy.

It's another thing entirely to go up against your best frenemy in a manner like this—with the stakes this time being your entire relationship.

But it's not like I can back down now. As much as I would love to just let this simmer down and for us to go back to our daily routine… Dedede would never accept such an outcome, after all the defeats I've given him.

…and to be honest… I wouldn't, either.

Our Status Quo will change here—and I have to make sure I don't mess things up here.

(Because if I can, I'd really like to be his best…)

…

"Right, right," Birdon groused. "You and Dedede's grudge match or something. This had better be worth it, you know! I didn't endure several days of this utter nonsense for nothing!"

"Don't dismiss this, now," Simirror commented. "This isn't just a peculiar reunion party; there is a weight far heavier hanging on our hero here. A seemingly innocuous event like this has so much more of a purpose than you imagine." I narrowed my eyes a little. _So… he knows something's up._ "But I sense that subtlety is lost on you right now."

"Hey!" she protested. "I can too be subtle— _and_ understand whatever it is you're babbling about! You're not the only one who can be a big smarty-pants!" Yeah, uh… I'm gonna have to disagree with you there, buddy. "So lose the big words and just say… whatever it is you want to say!"

"You are not exactly winning yourself any points, you realize."

" _Sh-Shut up! I totally am!"_

"Then why are you so in denial then, Birdon?"

While the two continued their fairly one-sided bickering—I swear Simirror does this to her on purpose—I tightened my grip on the Starship's cockpit. A swarm of thoughts swirled through my head, and for just a single, solitary moment… I hesitated. My normally resolute determination faltered.

Was… Was this really the only way forward? Did… Did I _have_ to… really do this?

Did I _have_ to go in and possibly break all of my sacred friendships?

…is there no other alternative?

…

…

… _You shouldn't be hesitating like this,_ I told myself. _C'mon, me. You're the hero of Pop Star. Destroyer of all those deities and demons! This—This is nothing! It's simply a little… dispute between you and Dedede!_ (If I say it to myself enough, maybe I'll actually start to believe it.) _Go in already and bring this whole thing to a close!_

 _Everything'll turn out fine. It_ _ **has**_ _to! It_ _ **always**_ _has!_

 _So you don't need to worry. Let's make it happen!_

Closing my eyes tightly, and getting myself mentally prepared to pull out the sword sheathed on my back, I willed the Starship forward, and—ignoring Birdon's startled squawks—started flying right toward Castle Dedede.

" _Whoa, whoa, whoa, K-Kirby! S-Slow down! D-Don't go f-flying so fast, s-seriously!"_

" _So we're starting the final mission? Very well—let us see where this leads… shall we?"_

And as the Sparkling Stars settled out of the makeshift Starship, transforming it back into my trusty Warp Star—with Simirror jumping onto it as it did—I shot my gaze straight ahead and thought to myself:

 _Alright._ _ **Here we go!**_

* * *

 **[King Dedede]**

 **Castle Dedede – Throne Room**

Kabula's external camera feed started transmitting static, just as another Starshot slammed into her. I knew immediately what that meant. "G-Great King!" I heard one of my Waddle Dees, the ones I assigned to monitor the situation, cry out. "We've… We've lost contact with Kabula! Her energy readings have gone completely dark!"

Bandana Dee started panicking beside me. "Wh-Wha!?" he jolted. "B-But… sh-she's one of the strongest guys we've got! We a-attached every upgrade we c-could put on her! H-How could she—she even go down like that…!?"

A frown came to my face. "…it was the Sparkling Stars," I realized. "They gave Kirby the power to overcome her." I knew it from the start. Something tells me they didn't appreciate being used for something like this – and they, like a lot of things on Pop Star, are more than a little sentient. Seems like they're not just sources of food after all…

Of course. Of course they'd give Kirby yet another last-ditch miracle. He's always been the hero, the shining star facing off against all evil, the one who can collect all these beneficial power-ups. And they've always benefitted those fighting those deemed 'the bad guys'. Why _wouldn't_ they save his bacon when he's in opposition to a _villain_ like me?

(I know they've got a good reason for it. I won't argue otherwise. I haven't been the greatest of kings, that's clearly obvious.

That doesn't mean it still doesn't _hurt.)_

I slammed my fist on the side of my throne. "Dang it!" I hissed. "She was our only outer defense against intruders! With her gone… Kirby'll be here in a matter of _seconds!"_

I tightened my fist a little harder. Honestly, a part of me wasn't surprised things turned out this way. Kirby's been a resilient guy, as long as I've known him. Our past adventures and matches have more than proven that. My little ambush with Kabula there wouldn't have deterred him one bit; he'd find a way around it no matter what it took. After what he's been through—what _we've_ been through—it'd never be a game ender for him.

But even then… the fact that he still made it, that he's one step closer to potentially defeating me once again…!

It… _It…!_

Bandana Dee glanced toward me and pleaded, "G-Great King! You—You need to r-relax!" He tiptoed closer over my throne. His expression was once more concerned, like it had been all throughout these past few days. "This is just a little setback! I mean, you're—you're still on track to v-victory! So, p-please… stay calm!"

Taking my assistant's advice, I closed my eyes and began breathing in and out, in and out, slowly getting my temper back to level status. I stopped clenching my hand on my throne so hard. "…I'm calm," I stated. "I'm calm now." I opened my eyes and looked to my trusty partner. "…thanks, Dee."

He closed his own eyes in happiness. "A-Anything for you, G-Great King! Just please—d-don't go overboard."

"…I'll try."

…I'm glad Dee's with me for this. I really am. This would be so much worse if I had to fight against him as well – and I don't think I'd be able to keep myself reserved like this for long without him. He isn't my closest friend for nothing, you know.

(…I just hope this whole thing won't tear him apart, in the end. And me.)

I turned back to the monitors hovering in front of me, now displaying security footage of Kirby and two of his other compatriots breaking through the front doors and blasting past the guards I had set up. I scoffed a little. _Typical Kirby. Always charging in headfirst… but then again, he wouldn't be him without him doing that._

I have to admit, he's done very well. Again, it's barely been three days since I issued that final challenge to him, and he's blasted through Whispy, Lololo and Lalala, and Kracko without so much as batting an eye, when they were powered up by my intense training. Oh, and all the elite troops I had set up, too. His two friends – a Birdon and a Simirror, if my judgement is correct – must be pretty good as well, considering they've survived this long while still standing by his side.

Heh. There's a reason he's my rival (or 'eternal nemesis', as Bowser puts it), a reason why I keep facing off against him despite all the odds.

Stuff like this is only piling more evidence upon the mountain of already existing proof.

And now that he's here, once again storming my fortress of operations…

…well, I can't say that a part of me isn't excited to thrash him and finally— _finally_ —come out on top as the victor.

With this, I'll prove that I can really be the Great King that Dream Land deserves. That I'm more than the arrogant, greedy, short-sighted regent that I used to be, way back when.

…that I'm actually, even if just on a personal level, better than Kirby.

…I sound pretty petty right now, don't I?

A part of me still hopes the four Sparkling Star guardians gave him a rough time.

(Something tells me they did, oh so much.)

But that doesn't matter now. I gotta stay focused.

This is the here and now.

And I won't get a chance to end this rivalry on my terms if I don't put my all into making that wish come true.

Little does Kirby know… I've got plenty of defenses remaining, still holed up in my castle: guards, mid-bosses… and even traps for all those unsuspecting intruders. If he thinks the last stretch is gonna be an easy ride, he's got another thing coming to him.

My other monitoring Dees turned to me, one of them seeing fit to ask, "Great King—Kirby and his entourage has broken through our first line of defenses. What shall we do, our liege?" We locked gazes, and I carefully considered the battle plans we had readily available. We had prepared for this for a good long while, and we had quite a number of contingency plans in place should things go wrong.

I just hope it'll be enough.

"You know the drill," I finally stated. "It's time to put all of our training to use at last. Send all our servants at them—every last one. We can't afford to show Kirby any mercy. Set up our battle stations, and wreak havoc! Because today… Kirby will be _ours!"_ And that's a promise!

"Y-Yeah!" Dee tentatively agreed. "This—This'll turn out f-fine!"

The little Dee nodded. "Very well, Great King." A few of the Dees I had stationed exited the room, presumably to get the nearby troops prepared for the attack, and a few others grabbed at some communicators for long-range command giving. And all the while, I leaned back in my throne and continued to watch intently with Bandana Dee nervously fidgeting around.

Today's the day, Kirby.

You better be ready for this.

Because I sure am.

* * *

 **[Kirby]**

 **Castle Dedede – Entrance Hall**

And so, just like my first adventure over sixteen years ago, I crashed through the front doors and blasted through the opening brigade, Birdon screaming all the while _("Slow down already Kirby what are you_ _ **crazy—"**_ _)._ I swerved around and into some other formations, scattering both them and their weapons to the wind (doing that never gets old), until finally I crashed into the ground.

I hopped off the dissipating Warp Star, spun about in the air a little, until I landed on my feet with my trusty sword out and ready to attack. Simirror similarly warped into place on the ground, his own wand glistening as always.

Birdon… just slammed into a nearby wall.

…whoops.

Slowly, she slid off of it and onto the floor, her head spinning around as she tried to get her bearings. "J-Jeez…" she slurred, stumbling about. "G-Give me… some warning next time… will ya?" She shook her head, shaking off the rest of her disorientation, and turned to face the path ahead.

There were several types of guards awaiting us: Capsule J2s, dual-wielding Waddle Dees, Burning Leos… and all of them looked equally as prepared to fight as we were. And equally as proficient, too. I pointed my blade at them, and they glared back at me undeterred.

"You've finally come," the frontline Spear Waddle Dee said. "You've defeated all of our guardians. Whispy Woods, Lololo and Lalala, Kracko—even Kabula was felled by your hand. Truly, you deserve the title of 'hero of Dream Land' – just as much as you are our Great King's greatest rival."

Greatest rival, huh… "I wouldn't be much of either if I couldn't face off against them, powered up or not," I replied. Kabula may have been a shocker, and the other four may have been way tougher than they had any right to be, but it wasn't like I couldn't deal with any of 'em. It just took a little more effort than usual, that's all. (And by a little, I mean a lot.) "I'm surprised you're all willing to face us like this. Are you really that confident now?"

"Our training has all been leading up to this," he declared. "So long as we have the backing of our Great King behind us, we will not back down, even against _you,_ Kirby."

I hummed. "I guess you're not gonna let us past easily, huh?"

He nodded. "I'm afraid this is where your path ends here." All the troops got into hard battle stances, several of them beginning to point their own weapons at us. "By order of our Great King, you are not allowed to traverse any further through our castle. Surrender now… or face the might of our army."

Simirror raised an eyebrow. "So this is our final challenge," the Mirror mage noted. Quickly glancing at me, he continued, "Like you said, our esteemed king is not holding back this time. This…" His eyes began glinting with something resembling delight. "…will certainly be an interesting battle."

"D-Don't you think that just because you outnumber us means we can't put up a fight!" Birdon declared, flapping her wings in anger. "J-Just watch us! We'll take you down!"

I myself remained more silent than usual. In a different time, and maybe even a different place, I'd be cracking jokes and sassing my opponents like I always do. I'd be grinning and laughing and flying about with joy – but not today. I can't afford to get playful – there's a lot at stake this time, even if it's only on a personal level.

Three days.

The past three days have been leading all up to this.

Dedede's final revenge.

…time to face it head on.

I shook my head. "…you know very well I can't do that now."

"If that's the case…" the Spear Dee solemnly stated, "then you know what we must do."

We sustained our little standoff for a few moments more, silently challenging the other through our waiting, until at last we took action. With my sword in hand, I rushed toward the frontline Spear Dee and initiated combat with him, with Simirror and Birdon doing the same for some of the other guards around. Sword clashed against spear as we duked it out, one-on-one. He attempted a downward stab at my feet, but I blocked it easily, following up with an upwards climb that sent him spiraling.

He recovered fast, and soon enough, he was tossing a volley of spears my way. I sidestepped back and forth between each one, even batting a few away as I got a little bit closer to the Spear Dee. Chaos reigned all about the halls: Simirror was fending off endless amounts of fireballs using conjured mirrors, and Birdon was flying and weaving through waves of assaulting Capsule J2s… and me? I was doing my usual, brilliantly dancing on the battlefield like it was a ballroom.

The Spear Dee tried his best anyway, even calling in the rest of his spear-wielding mates to try and take me down – but a few months of training doesn't discount several years' worth of experience, which I had. Despite that, they put up far more of a fight than you'd honestly expect from minions like these – and at the very least, I have to commend them for that. (Dedede's really serious, guys… This is just more proof atop the pile.)

With the three Spear Dees officially knocked out, I turned to my two companions to see that they had cleared their brigades… mostly unscathed, anyway. "What the heck kind of 'shrooms have these guys been taking!?" Birdon panted, wiping some sweat from her forehead. "These guys aren't supposed to hit so hard! Jeez!"

Simirror patted out a flame that had been brewing on his wizard hat. "A testament to our king's renewed determination, let's call it," he stated. "But we don't have time to muse upon that fact as of currently."

"He's right." Dusting off my blade, I turned back forward and observed a whole host of even more guards coming our way. _("Sound the alarms!"_ one of them was shouting. _"Kirby has infiltrated the castle! I repeat, Kirby has infiltrated the castle!")_ The whole place must be on high alert now, if they can mobilize a force to deal with us that quickly. "We may be at the end of the road, but we're not through yet! C'mon, guys—let's charge forth!"

So we continued onward, battling our way through a barrage of enemies, some more irritating than others _("Yowch!_ D-Don't poke your spear _there!"_ Birdon complained at one point)—but no matter how many came at us, it never took too long to take them out. In a less serious scenario, I'd probably be making a competition out of our body counts.

…if only.

Soon enough, the end of the hallway was in sight. "Just a little further!" I said, batting another Dee out of the way. "Whatever's ahead, guys, get ready to face it! Dedede's not gonna go down lightly!"

"I get it, I get it!" Birdon shouted. "Go in and beat up some more Dedede goons. Don't need to tell me twice!"

"Do not fear," Simirror said, another of his reflect shields up. "I am still plenty prepared for any enemy."

Seeing as my companions were ready enough, I continued onward. Eventually, I managed to get up close to the doors ahead of us, and busted them down with a mighty bang, revealing a curiously empty square room. No sooner had I come in—and Birdon and Simirror had caught up with me—than the intercom in the room suddenly start up. **"Well, well, well, my little puffy rival…"** a voice echoed from it. **"You've finally made it! I'd say congratulations, but I think we both know this isn't over yet."**

I'd recognize those deep tones anywhere, after over a decade and a half on Pop Star. "Dedede," I said. _Sounds like he's just as ready as I am._

 _Ha ha ha… That's not surprising._

" **Heh heh heh! That's right! I haven't gone anywhere, you three! I'd greet you here personally—but I get the feeling your friends there wouldn't…** _ **appreciate**_ **the time I've taken to set all this up."**

" _You've got that right!"_ Birdon shouted into the as-of-currently empty room. "Show yourself already! Your _face_ has an appointment to make with my _fist!"_

* * *

 **[King Dedede]**

 **Castle Dedede – Throne Room**

"I'd love to," I lied into the microphone—whatever that birdie's beef is, I do _not_ want to let her take it out on me—"but I'm not the only one here to fight. There's plenty among my servants that want a first bite at you three… and well, who am I as their king to deny them the opportunity?"

My whole army's practically itching at the knees to finally have a rematch against Kirby – again, mid-bosses included. I'm gladly willing to let 'em have a go (even if a part of me thinks it won't enough.) "In fact, there's even one coming in now! You'll find he might be a little… time-consuming, if you know what I mean." I let out a grim smile. I wonder how much Kirby'll appreciate that little joke.

Beside me, Bandana Dee shifted around, not really willing to speak up against his friend from what I can tell. For a second, it looked like he wanted to join in the conversation—but at the last second, he backed down.

 _This… This hurts… doesn't it, Dee?_

… _don't worry. I'll… I'll try and make this as painless as possible._

The Simirror next to Kirby snorted. _"Interesting phrase of words,"_ he noticed. _"So am I to assume our next foe will be time-based?"_

"Oh, you'll see!" I told him. "You'll see."

" _Where even are you, anyway?"_ Kirby asked me, seemingly staring right into my eyes from beyond the monitor screen. Blue and determined… I wonder if that's what my own eyes look like. _"You have to still be in the castle to be conversing with us like this."_ Observant as always, I see.

"I'm waiting in the throne room, you see," I explained— _for now,_ I didn't add—"but don't you think it'll be an easy ride there. If you can get past all my servants and make it all the way here… then I'll face you. But if you fall to them first… that's just as fine. Whichever way the wheel of fate turns… I'll be sitting here, waiting for the results." _The end of this battle, the end of our grudge… I wonder how it'll turn out, in the end._ _(And if it'll be a result I actually want to know.)_ "Don't disappoint me."

" _Us, disappoint you?"_ Birdon glared into the ceiling. _"Ha! That's a heck of a statement to make. You're the one who disappoints_ _ **us**_ _all the time! Why are you even_ _ **doing**_ _this to begin with!? Is your ego just that inflated!?"_

I clenched my fist and looked away from the screen for a moment. "…that's for me and Kirby to know, and for you to deal with later." …the greater populace still thinks of me that way, huh? Heh. I've never really shown them anything else, have I…?

…whatever. I can deal with that later. It's time to see this through.

" _So…"_ Kirby spoke up, _"you're really going through with this?_

"Now, Kirby… let's see how you handle this! Come on in, Mr. Tick-Tock—it's your time to shine!"

I deactivated the intercom and once more watched the monitor in front of me, the giant walking mid-boss of a clock spawning in in front of the trio of heroes. He's one of the weirder mid-bosses in my repertoire, I know that, as proven by Birdon's reaction _("What the heck is_ _ **this**_ _guy!? Are—Are those_ _ **bells?"**_ _)._ In fact, I've actually forgotten what Copy Ability he even gives out. But that doesn't at all mean he's not capable at all.

His alarm bells ringing and shooting explosive music notes, Mr. Tick-Tock ran forth toward the three-man squad, and the four officially began the first battle of the day. I soaked in the aspects of the fight in my mind; Kirby was in form, treating the battlefield like it was a second home.

I wonder if—before he ever came here—it _was._

…maybe I'm overthinking things.

"…Kirby's as good as ever," Dee noted quietly next to me. "He—He doesn't look like h-he's having a lot of trouble h-here."

"I can see that," I replied. "At least Tick-Tock's not completely outmatched by this." If I'm being honest, the only thing I'm really doing is delaying Kirby and his Helpers at this point. If the powered-up forms of Whispy Woods, Lololo and Lalala, and Kracko couldn't take him down at any point—then what are a bunch of mid-bosses and slightly stronger minions going to do?

I have to try, though. Even if the odds are against me, I have to try.

Whatever it takes, I'll triumph against Kirby once and for all.

…just a little bit more 'til then.

"I—I guess that's a-a little bit of c-consolation…" he conceded. "B-B-But… it'll mean that Kirby'll b-be closer to us, w-won't it? I—I dunno if you'll be able to h-handle it… The—the battle you'll have, I mean…"

"I've trained several months for this, Dee," I reassured him. "If—or rather, _when_ —Kirby gets here… I'll be ready." And that's not hyperbole; since the _Brawl_ tournament ended, I've been doing practically nothing _except_ training. I'd wager the only person here who _hasn't_ is Bandana Dee, and that's because he doesn't fight. Like, at all. "It'll be fine. You'll see."

"…I just hope it d-doesn't mean the end of… w-well, you know."

… _our 'friendship', right?_

 _Well… whatever bit of it actually exists, anyway._

I didn't have an answer for that, unfortunately. So I just stayed silent. I… I don't want to give him any false optimism.

The sound of an explosion suddenly came out of the speakers. Looking back on-screen, I saw Mr. Tick-Tock unconscious and now laying off to the side—and team Kirby was moving onward to the next hallway. Dee immediately started panicking. "O-Oh no, G-Great King! He—He had an easy time!"

"Dang it!" I banged the side of my throne again. I shouldn't really be too surprised—but a part of me _was_ really hoping this would be the one. "Should've known that wouldn't be enough…"

"G-Great King—wh-what do we do next!?" he frantically asked me.

It didn't take me long to have an answer. "Well, we've still got four more ahead of him!" I declared, changing the channel to a different camera view. "The other Waddle Dees should have them set up already." I pulled down a different monitor, just to check – and yep, the other four mid-bosses were right where they needed to be. Perfect. Next in line: Grand Wheelie. "Let's see how Kirby likes the next one!"

"Do—Do you think he—he'll… b-be enough?"

"If we take into account the other three…" I frowned, eyes locked on Kirby's form. "…they might be enough to tire him out, at least."

* * *

 **[Kirby]**

 **Castle Dedede – Hallway**

Slice. Dice. Slash.

My sword wasn't the most elegant of swords, or the most powerful (that honor belongs to Galaxia)—but in my opinion, that really doesn't matter so long as you know how to _use_ it. And luckily for me—and unluckily for everyone else—I do.

Another Spear Dee was sent flying into the wall from a good old-fashioned Spin Attack. I dashed to a Chilly and stabbed him upon my blade, tossing him away and right onto a nearby Blade Knight – all while coconut bombs and annoying Star Blocks were descending from the ceiling. Behind me, Birdon was – more tiredly – sniping at a swarm of Burning Leos with her feathers as best as she could, protected from several fireballs thanks to Simirror's shields.

It's been… something else, seeing the 'old guard' of mid-bosses: Mr. Tick-Tock, Grand Wheelie, Phan Phan… Who would've thought that Dedede still kept them on his roster? Even went and trained them up to our standards today; Birdon learned the hard way what it's like to be used as a living basketball by that elephant. Even Simirror's a little out of it; that's the level of difficulty we're facing.

I'd give them a break, but… they insist they're perfectly okay. That they can take a little more, Birdon more stubbornly, Simirror more reservedly.

… _they really want to see this through to the end, huh?_

"There's no end to these guys!" Birdon shouted, wincing as another fireball nearly got past to her. "Simirror, can't you _do_ anything!?"

"Holding up a shield is not as easy as you think it is, you know," Simirror grunted. "I can't shield _and_ attack at the same time. It just doesn't work that way!"

"Maybe you should learn how to, then!"

A scratch. I hopped out of the way, narrowly dodging another falling bomb, feeling a bruise on my cheek from a lucky Spear Dee. He and his friend began to toss a volley of spears my way, and I dodged those too, only to get hit on the head by a falling Star Block. I have to take them down – but I have to do it while assaulted by basically the entire hallway. How the heck am I supposed to—?

…wait, maybe…

This time, instead of sidestepping the spears, I hopped over them – and with my sword pointed up, I somehow managed to get a coconut bomb stuck onto the blade. In fact, there were now three of them, all having fallen down at about roughly the same time. (How… convenient?) As I touched down on the ground, I slashed my sword and shot off the bombs onto the Spear Dees.

The explosion was glorious. The Spear Dees stood absolutely no chance.

Coincidentally enough, the booming noise got the attention of the Burning Leos – the ones trying to savage my Helpers – and it didn't take me long to take action. Sooner than they could react, I swished and slashed them outta the way, giving Birdon and Simirror a rest at last. "Oh, thank NOVA!" the bird breathed in relief. "I used up, like— _way_ too many feathers there. My wing feels _sore…"_

"…and my energy is almost depleted," Simirror stated, following on from Birdon's trailed statement. His finally let his shields down, and he seemed more tuckered out based purely on his movements, seeing as his face was hidden by his hat. "One does not use so much magic in such a short period of time without tiring themselves out – at least, when your reserves are not as high as you'd like."

Side note: my reserves are pretty high myself. Actually, they're _really_ high.

It helps that I can use a bunch of Copy Abilities, plus my own natural power levels.

"Don't worry, you two," I said, "I get the sense we're almost at the end. Just a little bit more now." I can't tell you _how_ I know that; I just… do. Video game protagonist instinct, let's just say. "So long as we can make it there, we'll be fine." _Hopefully._

"Can't we, like… rest here for a little, though?" Birdon groaned, her face conveying a sense of 'I'm-so-freaking-tired-oh-my-god'. "There's simply too many things here. Just so many…"

I sighed. "You know we can't do that yet. The rest of Dedede's troops are trying to close in on us; stopping here would mean having to fight even _more_ guys." And I don't want to drag this out any more than it has to. The sooner I deal with this… the better.

"He's correct, you know," Simirror pointed out. "We need only take a momentary break before we march forward."

"Ah, poop…" she cursed. "Fine, fine. Give me a few seconds, sheesh…"

Once she was all rested up, it was time to face the fourth and presumably final mid-boss. Of the guys from my old Star Rod quest in this castle… Fire Lion is the only one I haven't seen yet. Shame I didn't bring any water (or ice)-based Abilities in, but I guess I'll have to manage.

It's probably gonna get a little hot, though…

Entering the next room, I found myself surprised—not by the identity of the mid-boss itself, but by the _quantity_ of them: Dedede, somehow, had procured _two_ Fire Lions, and both of them were looking rather excited to… do whatever it is a lion does, I think! "Oh," I simply said, looking at them rather warily. "This… isn't gonna be very fun."

" _Gee, you think!?"_ Birdon exclaimed, throwing her hands up into the air.

Once more, the intercom came online. **"Enough of this, Kirby!"** Dedede's voice echoed with a bit of a crackle. **"You won't be getting out of** _ **this**_ **one! Face the Twin Fire Lions!"**

Surprisingly enough, I could hear _Bandana Dee's_ voice ever so faintly. **"D-Don't go too hard on 'em, guys…!"** (So there's where he's been.) But whether or not he was speaking to us or the Fire Lions, I couldn't tell.

The two mid-bosses roared at us, and I reeled back from the sheer _force_ of it. Simirror did his own shadowed version of a grimace. "…well, this is… rather unexpected," he blithely stated. "I… don't suppose we have any pet treats, do we?"

The first Fire Lion proceeded to leap into the air and try to stomp on us, and we got out of the way just before a torrent of flames exploded from our previous positions. I winced from its mere appearance. _NOVA save us all…_ I prayed internally, gripping my sword tightly. _I think I'm gonna need a cold shower after this…_

What followed was nothing sort of chaos. One Fire Lion began to breathe out fast-firing fireballs all about the room, much to Birdon's dismay _("Come on!_ _ **More**_ _of this crap!? You have_ _ **got**_ _to be kidding me!"),_ and the other turned _into_ a fireball and shot himself right at us. This time, not all of us made it out unscathed: I got hit by a projectile flame as I dodged out of the way, and Birdon got hit by the Fire Lion while dodging a fireball. An almost hilariously pained squawk was all she could scream as several tons of flaming hot doggy slammed into her.

He, uhh… seemed to like her, too. Maybe a little _too_ much. Did he think Birdon was a chew toy or something?

Unfortunately, I couldn't focus on that question for too long, because this freaking guy didn't understand the meaning of overkill! I don't either, but still! It's not a pleasant feeling in any way! I half-wish my own Fire ability could do anything remotely close to the intensity of this…! (But that's not exactly possible… at least, I don't _think_ it is…)

Eventually, he did stop, but only because there was too many blazes for both us _and_ him to keep track of, ironically giving us some bit of recuperation from the insanity. And also because he had to take a break eventually. _So this is what it's like to be in an oven._

Simirror and I met back up, panting all the while. "Looks like he's distracted," Simirror noted, lifting up his hat. "He It and his partner. This is our chance to strike back, before we get overwhelmed."

I nodded. "I got ya. You take the one with Birdon; I'll keep the other off of you." As fast as I could, I ran forth to the lone Fire Lion and slashed at him. He screeched as I followed up with an uppercut of sorts, myself not intending on letting up one bit. He reacted quickly afterward, taking his claws and scratching at me with them. I held up my blade in a guarding stance. _Oh, how I wish I had Marth and Ike's Counter right now!_

… _wait, would that even help in this situation?_

Seeing that his tactics weren't quite working out, the Fire Lion moved on to breathing a wave of flames at me, and only a well-timed sidestep prevented me from becoming… uhh, meat, I guess. (Is there a catch-all term for becoming cooked? I think I need to learn it.) I quickly ran up from behind him if I could've, I'd spin him around by the tail and throw him away Mario-style – but he kind of has the special property of being on fire literally all the time, so instead, I improvised and slashed at him repeatedly at his back.

He howled, a tornado of fire erupting all around him as he continued his pained screams. Said pillars of fire had the side effect of throwing tiny fireballs every which way, forcing me to step back and start dodging repeatedly again. Said fireballs just fed into the already existing firestorm, and I think at this point—taking a little page from Sonic here—the whole room was on fire. (And no, the 'tornado' wasn't carrying anything. Thankfully.)

Keeping my eyes locked on his form, I shifted my stance and began to charge up an attack. Once the miniature inferno began to die down—at least, to a point where I didn't feel like I was in the middle of a volcano—I got in close, inching my way further and further to him, and unleashed a Twister Slash.

That was it. He was done. The typical round of explosions and shooting stars burst from his defeated body, and he laid on the floor utterly defeated. I wiped some sweat from my forehead. "That was more exercise than I needed today," I quipped to myself. "Hope nobody's planning on _us_ putting all of this out…" Ice isn't exactly conducive to being a fire extinguisher, as both real life and common sense would dictate.

That's one down, and one more to go.

Speaking of which…

I turned my attention to the other Fire Lion in the room. He was currently in the air, jumping after a panicking, fleeing Birdon… and about to drop in right on me.

…oh, come on, I just got done with this!

It didn't take me long to again hop out of the way, narrowly avoiding his giant mass trying to turn me into a pancake. (Now _there's_ a good metaphor to use!) Simirror teleported next to me at the same time, taking his wand and letting loose a sharp-looking Reflect Force to the enemy. "Why hello there, Kirby," he casually greeted me. "The two of us are almost done dealing with this fiery ruffian. Would you mind lending us a hand?"

Good to see he hasn't lost his sense of humor.

"I'm clear for that." Sword still in hand, I joined my mirror-based friend in assaulting the big guy – and I don't know about you, but I think we were getting a decent amount of damage done. We danced all around him; I sliced and diced him while dashing back and forth beside him, and Simirror was using his mirror clones to his advantage to maximize our damage output. We made a fine good team, if I do say so myself.

The Fire Lion would've launched a counterattack, but by that point, being assaulted from all sides – in addition to the damage he had already collected – he was well and truly out of stamina. And same as his friend, he fell to the floor defeated in another explosion of stars. He was groaning something too – in English, it might be something along the lines of _'Fun ball…'_

…probably.

Whatever the case maybe, that's four—or more accurately, five mid-bosses down. That's all the big guys; I don't remember anyone else from the Nightmare escapade who I haven't seen come back. Well, any of the mid-bosses, anyway.

So that means… we're in the _real_ homestretch now.

"That's the last of the mid-bosses," I stated aloud. "Dedede's the last one left." I closed my eyes. "…we're almost there."

"Duly noted," Simirror said.

Nearby, Birdon breathed a sigh of relief. I looked to where she was sitting; evidently, she had been taking a long, _long_ rest. (Maybe I should give _her_ the long, cold shower first when this is over.) "Oh, _good._ I'm just so _done_ with all these stupid mid-bosses…"

…I feel you, Birdon. I feel you.

…so, Dedede.

I know this truth, just as much as I know you do, too.

This is the climax.

You're out of mid-bosses and guardians. You've got no more Sparkling Stars to defend. And only a fraction of your troops are still up and ready to go.

You're the only one left.

You're the only one left who can still fight.

So… what are you gonna do now?

What do you have waiting for me, at the end?

…how far are you willing to go for this?

* * *

 **[King Dedede]**

 **Castle Dedede – Throne Room**

"Oh no," Bandana Dee whispered. "Oh no, oh no, _oh no,_ _ **oh no!"**_ He clasped his hands to his head, voice getting steadily louder until he was practically screaming, "The—The Fire Lions are down! _The Fire Lions are down!_ Kirby's beat _everyone_ we have!"

My eye twitched as I glared at the monitor screen as hard as I could. All around the room, my Waddle Dees were undergoing a massive panic attack, running about as if it were the end of the world. (It might as well be, at this rate!) Bandana Dee was close to having a total freak-out himself. And me?

I slammed the side of my throne again. "D-Dang it!" I cursed. "Can't anyone even _scratch_ him!? He's barely winded!" Sure, his _Helpers_ are out of juice – but what does that matter when I know they won't be the ones fighting me?

At the rate Kirby's going—I can tell he's still moving; the camera automatically switched to him and the other two heading to the next hallway—I predict he'll be at the throne room in T-minus fifteen minutes. And unlike the very first battle I had with him, I don't even have an elaborate boss rush prepared to stall him. I'm outta forces. I'm outta time.

The jig's up.

It's over.

And though I was fully expecting this, even psyching myself all throughout the castle siege, a part of me… dreaded it. Absolutely. Because there's nothing stopping Kirby from steamrolling _me,_ too; nothing stopping him from terminating the plans I had spent so long working on, the training I had spent so long undergoing – and leaving it completely for naught.

Because, in the end—I'm the villain.

And villains _always_ get defeated by the heroes.

 _Always._

 _(But… what about… if I wasn't…?_

… _is such a disposition… even_ _ **possible**_ _…?)_

"K-Kirby's approaching the throne room, Great King!" Dee frantically informed me, on the verge of tears. "We don't have m-much time left before he gets here! Wh-What do we _do!?_ We're—we're not ready for this! _ **I'm**_ _not ready for this!"_ He tugged at my arm. "Please, tell me: what do we do?"

…I didn't know. I knew what _I_ was going to do. I've had that planned from the very beginning. But… I have still have everyone else to think about. Everyone else who was unfairly dragged into _my_ petty schemes for revenge. They don't deserve any of this.

Face growing uncertain, I eyed Dee carefully as he looked to me for guidance. In fact, all the other Waddle Dees had stopped what they were doing to look at me specifically, as if I was their only salvation. _(Heh. Like I could be anyone's salvation.)_ They needed me. I needed to give them something.

A thought came to me. _Wh-What if… What if they…_

 _What if I set them against—_

…

My breath hitched.

… _no. No; how could I think that!? I can't do that!_ I berated myself. _That's the actions of a_ _ **terrible**_ _king! Aren't you trying to grow past being someone like that!?_ _(And yet, here we are, in the middle of this.)_ _You know there's only one thing you can tell them now._

… _you know there's only one thing you can do after this._

I took in a deep breath—a really, _really_ deep one—and exhaled it out in resignation.

… _This is the finale. My finale, even._

 _For all intents and purposes—I'm going to be making this the end._

 _I can't hesitate now._

I got up from my throne and said one simple word.

"…go."

"H-Huh?" Dee blinked in confusion. "G-Go? Go… where, Great King?"

"You're all free to go. Tell all the other Dees that." I gazed into each and every one of my loyal followers' eyes, an incredibly solemn expression resting upon my face. "The final order I give to you, as the reigning—" I choked for a moment—"king of Dream Land… is to evacuate the castle, posthaste."

… _is this what Meta Knight felt, so many years ago, during the launch of the Battleship Halberd?_

 _What would he say, if he could see what I was doing right now…?_

… _heh. I bet he wouldn't even care._

A flurry of panicky murmurs spread throughout the crowd of Dees. "You—You c-can't be serious, Great King!" Dee gasped, utterly unbelieving in what I just told him to do. "You c-can't do this alone! Let us be by your side! It—It doesn't matter what happens—i-if you want to d-defeat Kirby, then… we can h-help you!" The other guys nodded furiously alongside Dee's declaration, seemingly just as resolute as their bandana-wearing brother.

Oh, Bandana Dee. Dear, sweet, innocent Bandana Dee… You're too good for this castle, I swear. All of you Dees are.

I sighed. This is my last chance to convince them. "…no. I have to do this alone. This… This isn't a matter of pride anymore." _Maybe it never was._ "I can't keep sending you and everyone else to continuously indulge in my shenanigans. And I can't, in good faith, send you after the guy I _know_ will demolish you without even having to think."

I looked away, determined not to let them see my half-formed tears. "…I haven't been a good leader to you guys. I admit that. I've been selfish; I've been egotistic; I've dragged you all into situations that I should never should have forced you to involve yourselves in." It hurts, having to draw out all my flaws like this – but I don't really have a choice. I _have_ to get my point across, now. "…so I'm going to stop being that to you guys. As of now, I'm officially releasing you all from my command. You're free to do whatever you want now." I glanced briefly at my assistant—no, not just that. My best friend. "…even you, Bandana Dee."

He started crying himself, as did everyone else. "N-No…! G-Great King…!"

I walked behind my throne and toward the back wall, opening up a secret passageway I had installed months prior, just for this. "…I'm gonna be heading for the arena now. You guys don't have to keep yourselves beholden to me. Just run, and keep yourselves safe. Keep yourselves together. And please, for the love of Galactic NOVA… find a better life than here. That's my final wish to you all." I closed my eyes. I didn't look back. If… If I saw their faces now… I don't think I'd have the strength of will to continue on.

"So… goodbye, everyone."

" _ **D-Don't go, Great King!"**_

… _I'm sorry._

I entered the passageway, and it closed behind me. I couldn't hear their voices anymore. Whatever happens now… is all up to them.

I hope they make the right call. I hope they'll find someone better than me.

(Even if the idea of that hurts beyond all belief.)

"…right. Enough games."

From in the barely-lit tunnel, I got out a sinister-looking mask. It was a metallic one that covered my entire face except for my eyes. Two small, silver horns rested atop it, in-between three big, golden ones. With only a moment's hesitation, I put the thing on and secured it around my face.

"There's nothing else to do now—but finish this."

I opened my eyes, and reached out behind me.

"Now, Kirby…" Lightning formed into place around the weapon I was now holding. _**"…you pay!"**_

* * *

 **[Kirby]**

 **Castle Dedede – Hallway to the Throne Room**

I narrowly avoided a dive attack from a resolute Rosely, doing my best not to accidentally dodge into a Gordo hanging about nearby. (How did Dedede even do _get_ that there!?) "Not letting up this close to the end, huh!?" I muttered, striking back with a strike from my sword. "I'll respect you for that, at least!"

"You'd think," Birdon panted, fighting off a Moto Shotzo trying to blast tiny cannonballs at her, "that when your leader's… practically beaten… that you'd… get the hint… and just give up… already…!" A Condor Dive took care of that guy soon enough, but a swinging Waddle Doo came in right after to keep her busy. "I can't even… get a break here…! At all!"

The 'schings' of Simirror's Mirror Body attack echoed close to me. The mage himself was batting back two Capsule J2s trying to dash at him, and by this point, he was sweating bucketloads every second. "I concur!" he said. "This is an almost physically painful process! Is there no respite from this!?"

I'd grit my teeth if I had any. _Ugh,_ I thought, _I don't have the patience to deal with all these enemies right now!_ I threw my sword at the swinging Doo plaguing Birdon and tossed an emergency Pep Brew at her. _"Birdon! Take this!"_

Her face whirled to face me and got smacked in the face by the bottle (and how does _that_ keep happening to her?). She reacted quickly, grabbing the item and downing as much of it as she could in one gulp. "Th-Thanks!" she said, letting out another sigh of relief. "What was that for, though—?"

"No time to talk now!" I interrupted her. I grabbed Simirror by the hand and jumped onto Birdon's legs. _"Fly, Birdon, fly as fast as you can!"_

" _Okay, okay, I'm on it!"_ The colorful bird flew off past the horde of enemies and toward the end of the hallway, weaving past all the projectiles and bodies being tossed her way. Up and down and all around she went, and I must admit: I'm really lucky I know how to hang on tightly to things, because otherwise this would be an absolute nightmare to go through. Simirror did a pretty good job at not complaining, too – a part of me wonders if that's just the result of the adrenaline probably rushing through his veins right about now.

Before too long, we crashed through the double doors leading into the throne room, and Simirror and I epically jumped off of Birdon and landed gracefully onto the floor, sword and wand out and threatening whatever was in range.

But the closest guy in range… was someone I didn't expect to see.

I had thought that he'd stay out of this, for the most part. When you're caught between two sides like this, _anyone_ would do their best to stay out of the fight. And yet… standing between us and Dedede's throne, alongside a band of equally defenseless, but equally determined Waddle Dees… was one of my best friends—and _Dedede's_ best friend.

Bandana Dee.

"…Dee?" I breathed. "What are you doing?"

His eyes shifted about, and I could tell he'd be biting his lip if he had one. "K-Kirby," he gulped. "I—I… I'm sorry, but…" He stared right into my eyes, a nervous resolve seeming to empower him. "…I c-can't let you pass."

Faithful Assistant  
 **Bandana Dee**

… _wha?_

"Wait, wait, hold the phone!" Birdon exclaimed, landing off to my side. "What's up with you, Bandana Dee? We've got an appointment with your 'Great King'. He should've told you that himself! C'mon, let us through!"

Dee slowly shook his head. "I can't."

"But… But why!?" she shouted. "You shouldn't still be defending him! You can't fight, and you _know_ what he's like! So… why?"

"…I thought you'd cheer us both on while on the sidelines," I remarked. "What's changed?"

"Great King… He needs us," he started answering. "E-Even if he orders us not to help out—" why do I feel like there's a recent story behind that?—"there's no way we can j-just let him do this whole thing alone. You guys may be my friends, but… he is, too.

"I don't want to fight. I don't really like fighting in general. I don't know the first thing about being able to actually fight. But for my Great King… I'll put my full efforts into this anyway. This is something important to him, and I won't just ignore it. If it'll help him, in the end… then I'll be there to see things through with him.

"S-So… here I am. However I can, in whatever way I can, I'll help my Great King. Even if it's only just a little bit… I'll do their best to slow you guys down—and everyone else, too. That's—That's a promise."

The Waddle Dees surrounding him nodded assent. I was startled by their willingness to team up like this. If I'm being honest… this may be a little troublesome. They're not exactly the most difficult guys for me to take down, but together, they might be enough to slow me down somewhat substantially. (And no, I'm not kidding. Dees can be pretty creative when they have to be.)

It's already taken me—and Birdon, and Simirror—a lot to even _get_ to this throne room with the stamina we have currently. Any more than that, and I might not have enough energy to survive whatever trump card Dedede has up his sleeve.

I looked about the room. There was nothing in sight that would give me an immediate advantage, and floating over them would be too slow – and my mobility isn't exactly good in the air, either. That means I have to rush on through and pray I make it.

…yeah, that's not exactly good.

"…so this is your resolve," Simirror mused. "You've finally found the will to fight, for a purpose worthy to you." He closed his eyes. "…I can commend that, at the very least."

"I—I can't believe you," Birdon said. "You're—you're actually siding with Dedede. With. _Dedede._ What the heck. What the actual heck." She spluttered for a few more moments, her brain seemingly going haywire trying to justify this to herself – she's always disliked Dedede, so that's probably not easy – before finally just saying, "…alright, fine! I guess we'll have to bring you to your senses, then!" She turned to me. "Kirby, me and Simirror will take care of him! You go on ahead and beat up Dedede!"

Simirror stepped in. "Though I would love to witness your clash for myself," he added, "I recognize that is intensely personal business for you—so perhaps, it is best that you do it alone. I will respect that as well."

"…okay, guys," I said. "I'll—I'll trust you on that front." They're my friends; I know they won't go overboard here. "Just… don't hurt him too much, alright?"

The two of them nodded, and facing the crowd of Dees, we charged on forward. In the back of the throne room, I could see the markings of a hidden passageway – likely, that would lead me straight to the arena. I ducked and bobbed my way past all the attacking Dees, Birdon and Simirror batting a few more out of my range, and—slamming a button on the wall with the flat side of my blade—I ran on into the passageway. And as it closed behind me, I did nothing more but continue to move onward.

This is it.

This is really it.

The final battle between me and Dedede.

Whatever happens here—will determine the way we work together forever.

…let's finish this. For good.

And maybe then… we can be friends for real.

…Here we go.

* * *

 **VS. Bandana Dee**

King Dedede's faithful assistant and long-time friend to Kirby. While he has no fighting expertise to speak of, he'll do his best to help however he can. So though he may be weak, he'll fight for his beloved Great King… even if that means going against his friends.

* * *

 **[Bandana Dee]**

 **Castle Dedede – Throne Room**

' _You're all free to go. Tell all the other Dees that. The final order I give to you, as the reigning king of Dream Land… is to evacuate the castle, posthaste.'_

…I'm sorry, Great King. I really am.

But… I can't follow that command.

Not at all.

Arms flailing about, I did my best to hinder Simirror however I could. Unfortunately, my ineffectual punches weren't really doing anything to actually harm him in any way. He put up a light mirror shield, effectively blocking me off – so I called in two other Waddle Dees, and we began to fling ourselves at it repeatedly.

It couldn't hold up to the strain, luckily.

As it shattered, he warped a distance away from us. Two clones of himself surrounded him, and the three of them together began firing little mirror shards at us. We jumped and stumbled about wildly, dodging the attacks as best we could. I knew both he and Birdon were pretty drained at this point – which, in a way, gave us a little advantage. W-We could actually stand something of a chance against them – though it may not be enough.

I let a Dee pick me up and toss me at Simirror, and once I was on him again, I started trying to wail on him. I got in a few more seconds of this before Birdon swooped in and picked me off of him. "Stop struggling already!" she gritted out, trying to resist the wiggling about I was doing. She wasn't flying as fast as she normally was, p-probably another element of her tiredness. "I can't believe I'm saying this, but we don't actually have to fight!"

"Again—I have to!" I insisted. "I'm—I'm not g-gonna walk away from this!" She didn't get much further before a tower of Waddle Dees stepped in her way. Impacting them forced her to release me, and she fell to the ground, summarily being attacked from all sides by my now grounded brethren.

I know that we're not the strongest of beings around. I know that, on any other day, it'd take these guys five seconds to knock us away from a fight.

But I'm not gonna let my Great King down here!

As Simirror warped in close to Birdon and scattered her attackers, he put up another volley of mirror shields, which she seemed grateful for. To me, she shouted, "What _about_ King Dedede makes you so loyal to him, anyway!? He's a terrible king! He's _always_ been terrible! I know this, everyone know this—I know even _you_ know it! Don't tell me you've forgotten the time he stole all the food, or the time he broke the Star Rod, or his neglect for all of us!"

"O-Of course I know that!" I shouted back. "He's my king, but that d-doesn't mean… it doesn't mean I—I can't see his f-faults, as well. B-But… there's more to him than j-just that!"

I remember, so long ago, the days when he really proved himself to be the Great King I admire, all the way back during the Crystal Shard quest. I can easily recall all the times he's been compassionate, strong, unrelenting in his mission; and however flawed some of his goals may be, he never stopped trying to achieve them. And there's all the growth he's gone through in his times since his more… villainous days.

That's—That's not something you can j-just discard.

That's not something you can e- _ever_ forget.

I don't even need to think about it—Great King will be Great King, no matter what. And so long as he remains my Great King, I'll stick by him until the end of the universe!

"He's s-so much more now than the th-things he used to be!" I valiantly defended him. "He's shown us t-time and time again the good that exists in him! You—You may not have s-seen it… but I have! Me and the other Dees have! He proved his worth to us long ago—and by NOVA's name, through thick and thin, we'll fight for him so he can win!"

All of us Dees gathered up and ran into the fray again, crowding around Birdon and Simirror and jumping at them once more. Birdon tried to flick us away with her wing, but we were nearly overwhelming her through sheer numbers. Simirror was having a rougher time than usual too, though somehow he seemed far more relaxed (and I don't even know why?). "You… You really believe that, don't you?" Birdon said. "You're not being ironic at all." She bit her beak. "I—I don't even…"

"Do you see it now?" Simirror told her. "How this is more than what you expected it to be."

"I… still don't get it. H-How… How can they still have faith in him, even now…?"

"It is the same way that we continue to have Kirby as a friend. We see the good in him, just as they see the good in our esteemed king. Is it not unreasonable that they'd continue to fight for him, when we view them through those lens?" …huh, I… never thought about it that way…

"U-Ughhh… Th-This is… _way_ too complex for my brain right now…!" she groaned. (Really? I don't think it's that hard to understand…) "Wh-Whatever! I get it, okay! E-Enough of it, at least! L-Let's just handle this first, and _then_ figure all the other stuff out!"

And so our clash continued. We were all being knocked around, sure – but we weren't gonna give up just because of that. It'd be a disservice to even _think_ about doing that! Again and again, we ran at the Helper duo and battered our fists at them, their mirror shields continuously breaking and reforming within seconds. Birdon kept sniping us with her feathers, yeah, but no matter how battered we ended up getting, we never stopped.

But as the battle really began to intensify, with the two Helpers preparing for a presumably stronger counterattack, the monitor screens – which Great King hadn't put away at all before he left – suddenly flared up again, static covering every square inch of it that we could see. "What the—?" Birdon was asking. "What the heck is…?"

"I see," Simirror muttered. "So it's beginning."

B-Beginning? Wh-What could he…?

We stopped dead in our tracks to stare up at the television. All our eyes were glued to it in anticipation as to what type of screening that would be broadcasted in front of us. We watched carefully as the signal seemed to get louder and louder, until—

My eyes widened, as did everyone else's. "Th-That's…!"

 _Kirby! Great King!_

* * *

 **[Kirby]**

 **Castle Dedede – Battle Ring**

Through the doorway at the end of the passageway, I dropped into the battle ring where I had first fought Dedede, so long ago. At least, I'm pretty _sure_ it was the same battle ring; it was kind of hard to tell, given that the whole place was entirely darkened. I couldn't make out any of my surroundings at all, and my eyesight's pretty good, all things considered.

Despite that, I still took the effort to look around, just in case. You don't come all this way without learning to be a little cautious, especially after the difficult quest I had went through.

Finally, a familiar voice began to echo from parts unknown. **"So, you've finally made it here,"** it said. **"It's been a long time coming."**

I tensed up. "Dedede!" I shouted. "Where are you? Show yourself already!"

The sound of a spotlight turning on was all that answered back, and speaking of which, there was one lighting up the middle of the arena now. Newly illuminated and glowing brightly beneath it happened to be a single red-and-yellow pedestal, atop which lay a simple brown hammer – the type I always use, in conjunction with my Hammer ability. That was no mere coincidence, I knew.

" **Arm yourself with this first!"** Dedede told me. I knew he wouldn't be coming out until I did as he commanded.

Well, since he asked so nicely…

I dropped my Sword ability, letting it bounce about as an Ability Star as I walked up to the hammer and ate it. Within seconds, a white-and-blue-striped headband tied itself to my head, the very same hammer materializing in my hands. Now, don't get me wrong, Sword's a fine ability, pretty versatile in fact – but Hammer's in a league of its own. It only makes sense for me to switch to it when given the opportunity… even if it's suspiciously generous.

And then—all the lights turned on.

It took my eyes a little bit to adjust to the sudden influx of light. But once it did, I found myself gawking.

The battle ring, aesthetic-wise, was the same as ever. The banners were still there; the windows were still clear; even the audience stands were unchanged, minus the fact that there was no one sitting there. (He's serious about this, huh… The old him would very much love to glorify an event like this.) Instead of any of that, it was the arena itself that was different. While the atypical boxing ring setup I remembered so well was still there, a gigantic cage surrounded the field behind it, creating an enclosed structure from which there would be no leaving. Not really helping that case was the cage suddenly being _electrified all over,_ accompanied by an unsettling sparkling noise along with it.

… _okay, that's new,_ I thought. _We're having a cage match, huh…?_

"At long last," Dedede's voice fluttered into range, "we'll settle our grudge, once and for all." Abruptly, a part of the cage wall in front of me briefly opened, and Dedede's penguin-y form hopped through it right before it closed back up. (H-How long has he been practicing that…!?) His face lifted up from where it was facing on the floor – and I was startled to see a rather striking mask, gray except for the three yellow horns on its top, meet my gaze instead of his regular face. Even more strikingly, in his hand… was a mighty metallic hammer, its mallet inscribed with his usual peace symbol – and looking deadlier than any weapon I had ever seen him wield.

The Regent of Finality  
 **Masked Dedede**

I didn't like it.

Not one bit.

The fact that it was also surrounded by electricity didn't help.

"Meet my powerful secret weapon," he declared—"the brand-new **Deluxe Dedede Hammer!** "

* * *

 **VS. Masked Dedede**

The culmination of Dedede's efforts is here! With an intimidating mask and a deadly Deluxe Hammer, King Dedede is truly ready to enact his electrifying revenge! But beneath his battle-ready gaze, could there perhaps be someone who wants to reach out to Kirby…?

* * *

 **[King Dedede]**

I've waited so many months for this.

No, not just months—I've practically waited _years_ for this day. This single day, when all of my efforts would pay off in one big, absolutely gigantic way. The chance to, at last, beat Kirby for once in my life – and finally overcome all the things that have plagued me all this time.

Success is the only option I have. There can be no failure this time.

Here and now, I'll gather all my willpower—and _win this match!_

"Now, Kirby— _prepare yourself!"_ Deluxe Dedede Hammer in hand, I jumped at Kirby with all my might, slamming down on the place where we stood. He quickly dodged backward, his instincts clearly working incredibly fast—but unfortunately for him, the blue electricity waves that came from my hammer were not as easily avoidable from his position.

I grinned as I got in that first strike. _Heck, yeah! Take that, you puffy pest!_

To his credit, Kirby bounced back quickly, rushing back in and to try and bash me in the side. _Still got that battle instinct, I see!_ I countered with my own hammer strike, and we traded blows with each other for a bit like this. He was having trouble clashing his own hammer with my far heavier one, but it was clear I was going to need a lot more than just that to win.

Heh. _Just the way I like it!_

As he swung in for another hit, I blocked it, held up my hammer—and started spinning. Before too long, I was twirling my hammer at a frankly astonishing rate; my rival saw fit to flee from the incoming attack, though he was only delaying the inevitable. I moved about the arena at a decent pace, covering a length that Kirby couldn't outrun – and he soon found himself smacked several times in the face and thrown into the arena bars. _"A-AHHH!"_ he yelped, faceplanting onto the floor.

 _Y-Yeah! G-Got 'em again!_

U-Unfortunately… all the spinning… made me _plenty_ dizzy… I—I think even my mask came loose, s-seriously…

I should've trained this skill a little more, methinks…

I shook my head and reattached my mask. No time to think about that now. I got back to business with my Super Dedede Jumps, slamming up and down on the floor wherever Kirby happened to be. As I did, and he narrowly dodged out of the way each time, he conversed, "I have to say… you've certainly gotten better since the _Brawl_ tournament ended. Is this _all_ you've been doing ever since? Training simply in the lead-up to this?"

At my last jump, he fought back with a close-handed hammer strike. I winced for a moment, but continued on anyway. _You have no idea, Kirby. No idea._ _(You've never tasted defeat!)_

"What else do you think I have to fight for?" I retorted. "Every time we've fought – our first time, our second time, even the Brawl tournament… each and every time you've defeated me without fail!" I raised my hammer into the air, fire engulfing its wide mallet—"You should know by now that I'm _sick and_ _ **tired of it!"**_ —and performed a Hammer Flip while I had the opportunity.

My foe was smart enough to slide out of the way though, taking the time to create a larger distance between us. I won't be able to reach him through my close-ranged attacks now.

He wants to play a long game, huh? Sadly for him, I can't let him do that.

I didn't come all this way – enduring all these trials and tribulations, in the hopes that I'd score a victory for once in my life – just to have such a lackluster climax. Kirby's not gonna get away now!

I… I can't allow that to happen here!

 _Not now!_

(A part of me asks, _**What exactly is the point of all of this, Dedede? Is this not, in the end, simply an attempt to sate your own disgusting ego—**_ _)_

Gritting my teeth, I grounded my hammer and opened its lid, a mechanism on the side allowing me to unleash a volley of homing missiles directly targeting Kirby. _"Take this!"_ I screamed, watching as he grimaced and starting running again. Explosions began littering the floor, nearly engulfing him in some cases, and it was only through a circular throw of his hammer – which somehow was boomeranging back to him – that he avoided collision with a few stray ones, too. In the ensuing chaos, I initiated a dive attack and bum-rushed him.

" _Agh!_ Th-That smarts…!" he muttered, recoil sending him back. _I hope it was tasty, buddy._ He batted back another one of my attacks with his weapon. "Is that all this is!? Just being 'sick and tired'!? I've had you as my rival for years; I know you well enough to recognize that that's not the full story!" As he spoke, flames covered his hammer and his own Hammer Flip came a-knocking.

That hit harder than I thought it'd be – it always was one of Kirby's strongest attacks.

Just as expected from my eternal nemesis (who just—won't—stay— _down)!_

"What does that matter here?" I growled gutturally. "All that I need to do now is that we fight – and through my own power, I _will_ take you down!" Empowered by my will, I opened the lid again on my hammer – and started fighting fire with fire. A flamethrower came and burnt the little puffball immensely – and as it did, I let my thoughts whirl about in

He doesn't know the real reason why I'm doing this. He hasn't seen the consequences of all of his bad actions constantly laid out to waste with every waking moment. And he doesn't know just what he represents to me.

He's not just my rival – he's a **symbol**. The representation of all of my hopes and dreams and failures and anguish. It doesn't matter what type of person I grow into – so long as I never land that final blow and take him down… then it only proves how limited, how pitiful, how truly unworthy as a king I am.

…how much being a villain still defines me.

(And if I can't defeat him, even after all this training, even after all my efforts…

…then what's honestly the point of even continuing to do things this way?)

I've already done my part to remedy as many of the errors I've made: I've given my—the Dees their fair due by releasing them from my service. I've gradually become less and less imposing on everybody in Dream Land (if that even matters anymore). And now there's just one last thing to do.

…I have to take Kirby down.

I _will_ take Kirby down!

 _At long last, I will overcome my eternal fate—_ _ **and finally win!**_

(…there's nothing more to be said.)

* * *

 **[Kirby]**

I flipped away from the burning flames, glaring intently at Dedede's determined eyes. There's something else in his words. That I can tell. And there's definitely more to this grudge match than what meets the eye. But whatever it is, he's not telling me. He might not ever tell me, the way things are now.

I can… exposit enough, at least.

Oh, Dedede… You didn't have to do this.

I should've insisted on asking what was wrong. I should've been a friend willing to listen and stubborn enough to push on—because I know he'd never tell Bandana Dee this.

The way he's acting now, it's like he's staked practically everything on this.

…of course, maybe he did.

He shot at me again, spinning around with his hammer outstretched—with the electricity around it cranked up to eleven; I'd argue it was a thunderstorm now—but this time, I knew what to do. I puffed up my cheeks and took to the air, careful to float above Dedede while at the same time not bumping into the electrified cage. I dunno about you, but something tells me that'll _hurt._ A lot.

I watched as he spun about the arena, noting how much more aggressive he was fighting this time. Every attack was swung as hard as it could possibly go, every move made to capitalize on as much damage as possible. That… can't be healthy for him, at all. (I wonder if he knows it, too.)

Once he slowed down and sat still, mask coming off and eyes glazing about dizzily, I took another chance. I got in close and struck with another Hammer Flip. He recoiled appropriately, his mask falling back onto his face and his unsteadiness dissipating. His glare returned, and he started jumping again in fury. Again and again he whammed the floor as hard as he could, and I dashed out of the way as elegantly as I could, given the circumstances.

When he was done with _that,_ he aimed his hammer and fired missiles upon missiles upon missiles, seemingly having a never-ending brigade right at his fingertips. I batted them away with my hammer, sending the projectiles right back at him. But he pushed himself to keep going despite that, and with his hammer still sparkling, he started swinging in erratic and rather dangerous ways.

This deadly game of cat-and-mouse went on for quite a long time; maybe a little too long, if you ask me. I had gotten to the point where Dedede was only barely nicking me with his increasingly erratic attacks, and I was getting in a good dose of my own strikes during his moments of weakness. In another time, another place, I'm certain that he'd know to retreat, or at the very least back down and reassess his current strategy. But in the here and now, there was no way he could back down.

It was a never-ending cycle. I'd dodge, hit him, he'd get madder, start trying to hit harder—and end up playing sloppier, freeing me to dodge more, etc. Don't get me wrong, he was still incredibly dangerous—the sheer amount of training he had underwent was clearly not for show—but I was just as good, too. I've been at this for years; centuries, even. I've seen and done things people would only dream of. And Dedede wants so desperately to match that, even just a little bit, at any cost.

That, maybe… is the biggest reason why this feels so tragic.

I think I've got it now: Dedede's pride won't allow him to accept his repeated losses by my hand – and because of that, he sees himself as not strong enough—something that's simply unacceptable.

So he has to cross that barrier. He has to become stronger, he has to defeat me, he has to overcome all of his failures – or nothing he does will mean anything in the long run. At least, that's what I'm pretty sure he's thinking.

The thing is—and this is really not self-centered—my power levels is an achievement that very few people can actually reach. I'm a special kind of guy—and Dedede… can't get to that point. Ever.

(…I wish he knew he doesn't have to.)

And watching him finally self-destruct after all this time really, _really_ hurts, because I don't like it when my friends – even those who technically aren't my friends yet – hurt themselves like this.

…I have to put an end to this.

I can't let this continue on as it is.

Eventually, we reached the plateau. I was still relatively energized, but Dedede was tuckered out. I still had all my moves ready, but Dedede had exhausted his supply. I could still continue on… but Dedede refused to accept that it wasn't the other way around.

Another swing toward me; another backdrop away from it. Another vertical slam downward; another sidestep away from it. And every attack was accompanied by me getting in another hit on him – until at last, he was almost completely depleted.

He was visibly panting now, sweat leaking through his mask, and his attacks were noticeably less potent than they had been at the start of this fight. "Th-This…" he breathed heavily. "Th-This isn't over yet…!" Even his grip on his hammer was slipping, and his stance was slouching over. "I… I can still win…!"

I shook my head. "No, Dedede," I sighed. "You can't." I looked up into his eyes. "…it's over. You're done."

With a frenzied, desperate scream, he flew at me, disregarding trying to put up any emergency defense in case of failure – and as the case may be, I had one last Hammer Flip up and prepared. With a final, fiery blow, Dedede's mask broke off into two halves—and the regent was sent soaring into the air…

…and out of the castle, just the same as our very first match.

A bittersweet book end to our long-standing rivalry.

I looked at the Dedede-shaped hole in the ceiling solemnly. I could tell the sun was setting from the much more orange sky, and… it made me feel kind of sad—that this was the way my day would end. That this was how _Dedede's_ day would end.

…here we are.

It's done.

This **revenge** … it's finally done.

(…but at what cost?)

* * *

 **[Bandana Dee]**

 **Castle Dedede – Throne Room**

I stared helplessly at the monitor screen as the battle ended. For several solitary moments, the only sound going through the throne room was that of our own breathing.

Birdon could only manage a horrified _"Oh my god…"_ at the scene, a wing held to her mouth, Simirror beside her with his hat covering his eyes.

I couldn't breathe.

I couldn't breathe.

(I think nobody else could, either.)

Something bubbled up within me. Something I had to let out, that wanted so badly to come out—and before I knew it, I had screamed _**"GREAT KING!"**_ and bolted from the room, running straight to where I knew the front door of the castle was.

There were a brigade of footsteps behind me as I went – but my mind couldn't focus on that right now.

I—I have to get to Great King!

 _ **I can't leave him alone now!**_

 _(…because… I know he'll break otherwise.)_

* * *

 **Happy New Year,** Make a Friend **readers! This would've come** _ **much**_ **sooner, but—well,** _ **Star Allies, Unite!**_ **happened. And** _ **Smash.**_ **And other one-shots. And everything else. And the kitchen sink, too.**

 **But now that** _ **that's**_ **all out of the way… here we go, guys. It's time for the moment you've been waiting for! The Revenge™!** _ **(***_ _Taking Over the Halberd_ _ **intensifies*)**_

 _ **Revenge of the King's**_ **final stage, the aptly titled 'The Revenge', was a very memorable one, much like how** _ **Revenge of Meta Knight**_ **went. The banter between Dedede and Bandana Dee elegantly showcases the former's growing desperation as Kirby thrashes literally all of the returning** _ **Kirby's Adventure**_ **mid-bosses, and Masked Dedede himself is no slouch. Lemme tell you, writing the whole stage was a fun experience, almost as fun as playing the stage myself.**

 **I had considered splitting this into two chapters, but I decided you guys had been waiting long enough. So here's the whole thing at once! I'm a… weirdly generous (and lazy) patron, aren't I?**

 **It'd be kinda dumb if I didn't make** _ **some**_ **use of** _ **Kirby Super Star's**_ **Helper mechanic, since I tend to neglect Helpers in my fic overall. I mean, I've only really focused on the Dream Friends in my** _ **Star Allies**_ **fics. I know that KSSU has a one-Helper limit, but let me have some fun here, will you? I would've made it three Helpers, but that'd be a little too overpowered, even by** _ **Kirby**_ **standards. Just look at how** _ **Star Allies**_ **turned out.**

 **I considered writing the battle with Kabula in full, but I decided not to. Best to keep things simple and focused; I don't want this to get** _ **too**_ **out-of-hand. The end served as an effective introduction to Birdon and Simirror, anyway – and transitioned well enough to the start of the actual stage. So—good all around! Didn't stop me from adding a boss description for her, though. What can I say, they're fun to do!**

 **Writing Kirby and Dedede's perspectives on the same events was a load of fun to figure out, and I hope the suspense and tension of the chapter came out well in their parts! I really wanted to emphasize just how much of a turning point this is for both of them. (And if you're eagle-eyed, you might spot some foreshadowing for the next chapter as well.)**

 **The description of the cage during the Masked Dedede match is taken from** _ **Super Smash Bros. Ultimate,**_ **by the way. It** _ **is**_ **Dedede's newest Final Smash, and dang if it isn't an awesome Final Smash to have; so much more than Waddle Dees falling or a rather lame hammer combo. Retroactively adding it in here makes sense, don't you think?**

 **Also, Bandana Dee is our precious baby boy and he should be protected at all costs.**

 **Well, that's all for now – tune in next time for the ending to this whole thing!**


	3. We Can Still Be Friends

**One Last Time, I'll Fight**

 _ **Chapter 3  
**_ _We Can Still Be Friends_

(Uploaded on January 12, 2019)

* * *

 **Summary:** The Revenge had failed. Kirby was triumphant again. All of Dedede's efforts… meant nothing in the end.

But as the King walks into the sunset, ruminating over his failures… there are those ready to remind him there's more to him than just that. (And another soul in particular who's still willing to let bygones… be bygones.)

 **Notes:** This chapter is set during the credits of _Revenge of the King._

* * *

 **[King Dedede]**

 **Dream Land – Sunset Trail**

It took me a while to get off the floor.

It was a cold, hard, incredibly uncomfortable floor.

But in a way… it was where I belonged.

Honestly, I didn't want to get up. I wanted to stay here until it was nighttime. Maybe even longer than that.

But… I can't run away from my mistakes. Not now… not ever.

…I've failed.

My coveted revenge, my final stand—

It's completely and utterly fallen to pieces.

And though the only thing remaining are my regrets…

…I have to still face them, either way.

(Whatever I have left _to_ face, anyway.)

Reluctantly, I got to my feet and started trudging the gravel path in front of me, the setting sun casting a gigantic shadow over the entire wasteland. My head faced the floor, a despondent expressing filling my features. Thoughts whirled through my mind, a heavy weight seemingly bringing it down to the depths of darkness.

I pulled out all the stops for this. Again, in order: I gave all of my old guardians – Whispy, Lololo, Lalala, Kracko, and Kabula – a massive power boost. I brought back some of the guys from the old Nightmare crisis, so long ago. I sent every one of my troops after Kirby— _every one_ —after a long training session. I myself even had a beefed-up arena—and a brand new weapon in the form of his Deluxe Dedede Hammer, designed specifically for one final showdown against my nemesis.

And despite all that… it _still_ wasn't enough.

I laughed bitterly. Things never change. They never do. Why do I even try? I fail every time.

There's no point to this anymore, either. We've been fighting for over sixteen years now, and yet—it doesn't matter how much tougher I get or how much I throw at Kirby; he'll always find a way to triumph over me every single time. And again… he's the respected hero of Dream Land. The guy who saves everybody from all the demons of the universe. The one friend who everyone adores, always.

Me?

I'm just the wannabe king. The bad guy that does bad things and doesn't know when to stop. Even if I'm actually doing good things, nobody ever really remembers those. They just remember the villain who stole all of Dream Land's food because he was hungry that one time.

And it's too late for me to change anything.

Not when I've been antagonistic for so long that I don't know how to be anything else anymore.

There's nobody left to care, either.

I sent all my Dees away.

I've alienated all of my subjects.

…I bet Kirby's out of the picture now, too.

How could he not be, when this whole event was tailor-made specifically _to_ utterly defeat him, in the most spectacular way possible?

That's literally the definition of petty animosity.

I sighed. _And I've only got myself to blame,_ I thought. _…well, I hope my Waddle Dees made it out fine, at least._

That gave me some thought. _Will they be okay now? Out there in this world, completely free of my guidance, however poor it may have been? Did I end up making another poor, terrible decision, and dragged all that I care about into it?_

I wanted to say no; I wanted to say that they'd be perfectly fine. But my heart couldn't shake the feeling of uncertainty flowing through my veins. I looked up the trail into the vast desert beyond. It was going to be lonely without them by my side, but… I've been making my bed for a long, long time now. It's only right that I finally lay in it.

A peculiar waddling sound started perking up behind me.

I… I know that sound. I'd know it anywhere.

Slowly, I turned my head, and I saw… one of my former Waddle Dees, walking alongside me as if it were his duty (because it _was_ his duty, just a few hours ago). Though he was supposed to be with his brethren, he was waddling on beside me despite every single action I've done and commanded – and upon noticing my tired gaze, he looked up at me, and merely nodded his head as if reaffirming his own decision to me.

"…you should've gone," I said wearily. "You deserve better than to stick with a guy like me."

To my surprise—subdued though it may be, given the rollercoaster of emotions I had been on—he shook his head and kept moving onward. He shuffled a little closer to me, too. It was clear: he wasn't going away.

You know, in a way… that's its own sort of comforting. The fact that he's still here proves that maybe—just maybe… there's hope for me yet. I don't really think so – I mean, I failed here, didn't I? – but… it's not like I can order him away now.

(…after all, he's not even under my orders anymore.

Plus… I'm out of strength to really try arguing with him at this point. So why not?)

So I let him be a partner of sorts and continued trekking into the sunset. If that's what he wanted to do… who was I to disparage him?

But as my feet trudged forwards through the rather barren desert with cactuses abound, my face remaining solemnly directed toward the ground, the sounds of waddling became more and more numerous. One by one, the footsteps traversing this gravel path increased in volume and synchronization, as if it were a band performing a well-practiced symphony – and when I turned to look out of curiosity, I found myself in disbelief.

 _All_ of my Waddle Dees—every single last one of them, including Bandana Dee; a greater number than I could have ever imagined—were loyally marching behind me, as if the past seventy-two hours or so was nothing more than an imaginary blemish on my record. And I could tell they were all here for the same singular reason: being by my side, even after everything.

I… I didn't get it.

They saw me today. Several of them have been in the throne room with me for literal hours, seeing my determination and desperation and despair brimming all around me; all things which should've only added to the gigantic pile of fuel for the 'Dedede is Absolutely Imperfect' engine. (NOVA knows that can't get any bigger at this point.)

And yet, here they are. Refusing to leave me.

Loyal to the end.

As if he was sensing my confusion, Bandana Dee looked up to me – and closed his eyes with an expression that could best be described as 'smiling'. "S-Surprise, Great King!" he announced brightly. "We're… We're here for you!"

I'd try to count how many Dees were here, but I know that's a number too high for me for my mind to even remotely get to. "…Bandana Dee?" I breathed. "…everyone? You're… You're not gone?"

He got up beside me, practically beaming all the while. "Y-Yep! All of us are here and a-accounted for, King!" That statement seemed so impossible to my quite depressed mind, but he didn't seem to have the same problem. Did… Did all of them really decide on this as a collective? (Do I inspire them that much, to this degree?) "You're not getting rid of us th-that easily!—or convince us you're not great, I m-must say. No matter what happens – or what's already happened, even – we're— _I'm_ —not gonna let you be alone."

"…but why?" I asked. "Why are you all still willing to follow me? I told you before, in the throne room… I'm a terrible king. Selfish, egotistic, careless, unrewarding, ungrateful—every unpleasant adjective you could think of describes me well. That's not hyperbole—that's the truth." Technically, it _used_ to be proof, but—c-c'mon. It still happened; I can't deny it. "There's no point to sticking behind someone so unworthy. Surely, there _has_ to be someone better…?"

Bandana Dee shook his head. "Of course not! You're _our_ Great King – and that means a lot! We have a reason why you became that to us, you know. My brothers wouldn't be here if you hadn't shown them kindness. Remember that day?"

…wow, was it really that long ago? That brings back memories…

It was a year or so prior to my… 'ascendency' to being the king I am today. I was fresh out of my more formative years, and I had moved out of my mom's place to try to make something of myself. (I was young; we all do that at some point.) Eventually, I had managed to make a little house in Dream Land—nowhere near the heights I had been aspiring toward, but… it was a start.

I still remember the day I met the Dees, vividly in my mind…

* * *

 _The sun was shining and the skies were clear, the grass bristling wildly in the fresh spring breeze. For the rest of Dream Land, it was another bright and cheerful day in this sleepy country. But for me… this couldn't be anything further from what I wanted._

" _I've been here for months and_ still _there's nothing," I groused loudly to myself, not bothering to hide my distaste – who'd hear, anyway? "You'd think that this sleepy planet would have_ something _interesting happen once in a while, but_ no!" _I raised my arms to the sky in frustration. "What does it take to actually become a legend 'round here!?"_

 _Seriously! I travel the whole freakin' planet, visit all these interesting places – and the sum total of worthwhile events that had happened was essentially zero. I knew I was born to do something great – maybe a superstar warrior, or something neato like that – and yet… here I am, nothing more than a simple commoner in this backwaters land. It makes me so… ugh!_

 _I brought my arms back down as I continued to walk along this grassy path not too far from my current place of residence. "Well," I huffed, "at least this place is… pretty enough, I'll admit. Doesn't completely make up for all the nothing I've been through, but whatever." If only I'd come across something of interest. I'll take anything at this point, even if it's as small as a few crickets chirping differently than usual!_

 _Please – just let something_ happen _already!_

 _(And then my wishes were heard.)_

" _Huh?" I noticed something off to the side, something that_ definitely _qualified as 'unusual'. Sitting on the sidelines were these… strange brown creatures, with tan faces that reached out to their cheeks – and for some reason, contained no mouth at all. (Freaky!) There were a huge number of them, more than I can honestly bother to count, and each and every one of them were simply sitting on the ground, doing nothing more than looking out into the horizon._

Wh-What the heck are they doing…? _I thought._ They're not… waiting for something, are they? _Hmm… They… They don't_ seem _unfriendly; just a bit weird. I wouldn't exactly be losing anything if I walked away here… but then again, the same thing could be said for if I approached them. And this_ did _shake things up on an otherwise boring day, so… I suppose I should see what they're on about._

" _Heh," I chuckled to myself. "It's your lucky day, Dedede. You won't be bored anymore!" With a prominent gait, I strutted on over to the brigade of brownies. They didn't seem to notice me at all._

 _I can change that soon enough._

" _Hey, you there!" The brownies started turning their gazes to face me, their heads tilted in curiosity at my mere presence. "What are you people doing here, just sitting around? You all look like you're having a joint snooze fest, staring all the way into space! You gonna be this dreary all day or what?"_

 _They looked at each other, as if they were pondering the meaning of my words. Eventually, the bunch of 'em collectively turned back to me and effectively shrugged. I furrowed my brow._ Okay, I didn't expect **that** reaction… _I guess I'll have to take a different approach, then._

"… _do you guys need a hand, or anything?" I tentatively asked. I have no idea what they want, seeing as how they've been silent this whole time – maybe I'll get a response in sign language, or whatever language these guys speak. "I, uhh… don't think you should really be squatting 'round out in the open like this."_

 _Again, they shared glances together – what are they, a hivemind? – and then they shrugged their nonexistent shoulders again. At this point, it was getting a little grating keeping up this 'conversation'. Was I going to get any actual response out of them anytime soon? I'd prefer for it to be this century!_

"… _well, you're all simply an eyesore on this grassy plain!" I declared. (…what? Don't look at me like that! It's true!) "You're weird and silent and I don't even know what you're supposed to be! I think you should be doing something else, at the very least! Hmm…" My mind whirled on with ideas, until it finally settled on one that was… mmm, gonna be a little uncomfortable._

 _But hey, these… squatters have gotten me out of a funk. They should be thankful that I'm even deigning to do this for them to begin with!_

"… _how about all of you join me at my house?" I suggested. "I've got plenty of food for your tastes! Maybe not enough beds – but somehow, I don't think that'll be a problem for you! Heh heh heh!" If they're willing to sit on the ground for no reason, they're probably willing to sleep on the ground for all I know. "C'mon, whaddya say?"_

 _Anyway, another lock of their gazes, and then finally—finally!—they nodded. Getting up, they all formed a sort of crowd circling 'round me, a brownish wave that could probably be seen from orbit, should somebody actually be able to look up from there. I looked with surprise at each of them… before a delightful grin sprouted on my face. "Heh heh heh! Man, you sure react pretty fast to that! This place may be boring as can all get, but I'll do my best to make things entertaining as possible! Let's head onward home!"_

 _And so, the group of dozens of creatures strong began to follow me back down the trail to my house, marching obediently by my side like they were servants. This is an amazing feeling, one I didn't know I was missing all this time. Weird though these guys may be, I wouldn't mind seeing them more every day!_

 _(…would they stick around Dream Land, if I asked them? Hmm…_

 _I don't know the answer, but hopefully… it'll be one that benefits me in the end!)_

* * *

…heh. Who would've thought just a simple act of kindness—well, whatever passes under your definition of kindness, anyway—would've indebted them to me? An offer for them to stay for a bit… was that, perhaps, more than they had ever seen before? Or was it that they saw something in me… something more beyond my then rough personality?

"…yeah, I remember that day," I finally replied to Dee. "That was… something else, looking back in retrospect." The day I first got my beloved servants—I could never forget that, not as long as I live.

That wasn't all, though. "And don't forget!" Dee perked up. "You inspired me, too! P-Plus… _I_ might not even be here if you hadn't saved me during the Crystal Shard hunt!"

* * *

" _What the heck is this thing!?" I shouted, barely staying steady on these tiny-butt rock platforms. My hammer was out, and I was trying not to swing it into the_ very _hot magma below. "And why do we have to fight in such a precarious place, anyway!?"_

" _No time to talk!" Kirby told me, jumping over a tentacle of magma as it tried to slam into him. A stone with an electricity field was ricocheting about him, bashing the arm as it went. "Just hit Magman as you can! Preferably without becoming fried chicken!"_

" _Th-Th-This is c-c-c-_ crazy!" _Bandana Dee exclaimed, doing his best to stay in the center of his glorified podium. "I—I don't wanna g-g-get burned here!"_

" _You and me both, Dee!" I replied. Is this the type of stuff Kirby has to deal with on a regular basis!? I think a part of me's actually_ pitying _him now – and that's not right! I'm Kirby's rival, I'm supposed to be envying him! …probably!_

 _On the mainland, which was sadly far from where the three of us were, dealing with this freak of nature, Adeleine and Ribbon—Kirby's two newest friends on this Crystal Shard journey—were cheering us on as much as they could, given the circumstances. "You can do it, guys!" Ribbon called out to us. "Don't let this lava-weirdo win!"_

" _Yeah!" agreed Adeleine. "If he's got a Crystal Shard, just beat it out of him! I can get a picnic ready when you're finished!"_

 _Well, that's motivation enough for me! (And Kirby too—but mostly me!)_

 _Focusing back on our not-so-little boss fight… The big monster guy—Magman, apparently; the heck kind of name is that?—bashed his head into the ceiling, causing a bunch of rocks to fall from the ceiling. Of course, all of those rocks_ weren't _falling in his area; that would make too much sense. No, they were descending down on_ us— _who would've thunk?_

Oh come on! _I internally groaned._ It's hard enough to dodge the tentacles as it is! We have to deal with **rocks** now, too!? _Thoroughly annoyed, I set about hammering away at the falling projectiles._ 'Least they die to any 'ol attack! And my hammer's a good cleanser!

 _Thanks to that, none of them even came close to scratching me. As should be! Though they were still falling, I was ready to congratulate myself on a job well done—a kingly performance, if I do say so myself!—when a startled yelp hit my eardrums._

 _I turned my head sharply in the sound's direction – still swinging, mind you – and I found Bandana Dee having an extremely rough go at dodging things. He was jumping all about creation—as much as he could on that thing—but for some reason, the rocks were piling up. Soon enough, he found himself pushed to the brink, barely hanging on by a thread. "H-H-Help!" he cried. "I-I-I need h-_ help!"

 _The sight of it gave me pause, and an uncomfortable, even frightful feeling went down my spine. Wh-Why do I feel this way…? Yes, his situation is extremely precarious, and yeah, I'd want to assist him from death-by-too-many-degrees. And s-sure, we've been… 'bonding together', or so Kirby says, and he's not really that bad, but… he's just a Waddle Dee, isn't he? And he's not someone I really care about, or even one of my own Waddle Dees – that's Kirby's job, not mine! Sh-Shouldn't_ he _be the one to handle this…?_

 _I turned to Kirby – but he was preoccupied with his own issues. He was busy weaving through a bunch of weird fireball beings trying to swamp him – not to mention, he was too far to reach Bandana Dee right this instinct._

" _No! B-Bandana Dee!" Adeleine screamed, heart practically in her mouth. Ribbon looked like she was in a similar state, and she'd probably be rushing in herself if she wasn't so fragile in terms of defenses. "He—He's going to fall…!"_

 _For a moment, I didn't know what to do. The rocks had stopped falling on me at this point, leaving me some time to think. My limbs trembled, unable to move themselves despite my mind shrieking to do the opposite. Sweat squirreled down my forehead, dripping onto the floor and dissipating the second they touched the ground._

 _Another magma tentacle shot straight for him – and finally, I willed my body to finally_ _ **move**_ _. Hammer still in hand, I valiantly jumped from platform to platform, until I slammed down into the dumb arm and sent it_ reeling. _With a free hand, I grabbed Bandana Dee—and he responded with a rather high-pitched squeak—and perched him on my back, saying grimly, "Hang on to your hat, Dee!"_

" _Y-Y-Your Majesty! Wh-Wha—!?"_

 _I didn't give him too much time to reply. Quickly, I hopped to another rock as Magman sent the one I had been on straight into the freaking_ ceiling. _I continued to put a little more distance from him, so I could finally get some actual breathing room. This guy is way too nuts for me…!_

" _Jeez—that was too close!" I panted. I think the heat was finally getting to me! "I need to take a break from all this nonsense, I swear…"_

" _Your Majesty…" Bandana Dee exhaled. "You… You_ saved _me? F-For real…?"_

" _Well, yeah," I replied. "I—I couldn't just let you boil 'cause of that magma freak. I'm—I'm your king, and that means you're my subject—and I_ always _protect my subjects." And by that, I mean my subjects… minus Kirby. And no, this wasn't because Dee was becoming a 'friend', or anything. Definitely not. "Now, don't let go! It's gonna be a wild ride, dealing with this guy!"_

" _W-Wow… A-Amazing…! You're, you're like—a great king! A true_ _ **Great King**_ _!" (His eyes closed.) "I'll—I'll try my best to do as you say, G-Great King…!"_

* * *

…the Crystal Shard hunt was certainly filled with its own ups and downs and all-arounds. I groused and grumbled through the whole thing, yeah; I still wasn't very mature back then. However… that didn't stop me from assisting everyone anyway. I ended up spending a lot more time with Dee there than I had thought I would.

…I haven't ever regretted that. (Having a best friend is… nice, in a special way.)

"…that happened too, didn't it?" I recalled. "Saving you from that crazy Magman… You still remember that?"

"O-Of course!" Dee said. "You were—you were a-amazing then, y-you know? Th-The way you s-swooped in and h-hammered that guy… Th-That type of thing's _why_ you're my Great King. And it's also why you're everyone else's Great King, too! I—I know you haven't done _all_ good—" (Heh—even _he_ admits it.) "—but you haven't done all bad, either! You're more than what you think you are! D-Don't put yourself down for _everything."_

"…that still doesn't change the fact that I've been an unworthy king," I insisted. "Nothing ever will. Everyone knows it—my subjects do, Kirby does… even you guys have seen it first-hand. I can't overcome that."

"Yes you can!" Dee tugged my arm a little. "Th-There's no reason why you can't be a better king now! Even if it t-takes a long time for everyone to acknowledge it… it's s-still worth it to try! A-And you won't have to do it alone!" He gestured out to everyone behind me. "…we'll be here with you. So d-don't worry!"

…he won't give up on me, huh?

Not him, not any of my Waddle Dees.

"Wh-What about Kirby, though…?" I questioned. "I started this whole thing to take him down in the first place."

"I'm—I'm sure he hasn't taken it personally! He's a f-friend, after all! Friends understand what other friends are going through. If you talk to him a little… then things'll change! You don't need to be better than him to be a worthy person. T-Trust me on that, Great King!"

…he believes in that, doesn't he?

 _(_ _ **You've already tried everything else. Surely, it couldn't hurt to give this a shot, just this once…?**_ _)_

"…alright," I finally conceded. If he really, truly still has faith in me, despite everything that's happened, despite all the things that I've said… then maybe I need to have a little faith in myself, too. After all, when you've hit rock bottom… the only way to go is straight back up, right? "I'll… I'll do my best, then." And for the first time in what felt like forever, I allowed myself a smile – a little one… but a smile nevertheless. _Where would I be without you?_ "…thanks, Bandana Dee. I… I really appreciate you being here."

"It's—It's no problem!" He closed his eyes in a tearful joy while rubbing the back of his head. "J-Just doing my d-duty, th-that's all…"

With that declaration, we walked on into the beautiful sunset – and I could feel a heavy weight at last lifting off of my shoulders, freeing me to see, perhaps, the rise of something beautiful into this world. Though my final revenge had failed, and I had been defeated in every sense of the word… I didn't have to let that define who I am.

I'm King Dedede.

I'm the ruler of Dream Land.

I'm the guy who takes care of both his servants and his subjects…

…and it's time I finally take that job description seriously.

No more moping around. No more trying to clobber Kirby. No more trying to steal food, or inconveniencing everyone with my actions.

Today… is the day I really change.

(There's just one last thing on the road, first.)

At the end of the sunset trail, standing at the precipice to my castle… was Kirby and his two Helpers, Birdon and Simirror. Birdon seemed nervous, shifting around uncomfortably as she sat. Simirror had his eyes closed, seemingly meditating amidst the quiet desert. And, to absolutely nobody's surprise, Kirby was in the middle, waiting patiently for… me, most likely. (Who else could it be?) When he noticed me and my crowd of Waddle Dees… he perked up and smiled. "Dedede," he called. "You're back."

"…Kirby," I replied. "You're—You're here." _…has he waited here this whole time?_

Birdon jolted at our greetings, and stared at us with surprise. "D-Dedede, Bandana Dee." Her eyes shifted away. "It—It's good to s-see you."

Simirror hummed as we approached, opening a single eye that gazed at us rather creepily. "…so, you have returned. And your resolve… much like Dee's, I sense that it is no longer in constant turmoil. You've taken your first step to a new future." His eye glinted with intrigue. "…it has been a long time coming, I say. I look forward to seeing what's in store for you."

Gee, does he have to sound as cryptically foreboding as physically possible? I swear Kirby makes the weirdest friends just to troll me sometimes.

The pink bird sighed and looked tiredly into my eyes. "…look," she said, "I know I and everyone else haven't exactly been the most… welcoming to you, as of late." It sounded painful for her to admit it – much like how it was painful for me to admit my own mistakes. "…but, well… Dee showed me that there _is_ more to you than what I've always believed. If… If you _are_ willing to change, then…" She looked away, a light blush coloring her cheeks. "…then I guess I could try to accept you. T- _Try,_ a-anyway."

Kirby just smiled wider. "…you don't have to be an enemy, you know," he simply stated. Though we had been locked on bitter combat not an hour or so ago… he didn't seemed phased by my appearance at all. "It doesn't matter what you've done in the past; I'll always be someone to reach out to."

 _He sounds so earnest when he says that._ "Do you really mean it?" I asked. "Like… really, _really_ mean it?

"Of course. I've always treasured friendship in all kinds. And even though we've been rivals for the better part of two decades… I'd love to be your friend, too. After all… there's nothing wrong with having a lot of good friends!" He held out his hand toward me, wearing a heartfelt expression. "So… what do you say? Wanna start over?"

There was a sincerity to his words that I couldn't deny. It was like a wave of water flowing down and splashing against your back, giving you a sense of calmness in its serenity. I stared into Kirby's inviting eyes for a few seconds more. Here he was, the hero of Dream Land, my rival—and even a travelling companion, at times—offering to put all our animosity behind us once and for all. The very action that, deep down… I knew I wanted all along.

"…you know what? Sure." I took his hand and sealed the deal. "Let's start over. I'm King Dedede."

"And I'm Kirby. Kirby of the Stars." His eyes twinkled. "Let's be the best of friends now, alright?"

Best friends, huh? …I think I'd like that.

* * *

 _ **Revenge of the King's**_ **ending was really heartwarming, something you don't normally see in a happy-go-lucky** _ **Kirby**_ **game. It's hard not to feel something when you see all the Waddle Dees—and Bandana Dee!—walking alongside Dedede as he goes into the sunset. It was a joy to recreate that in my writing—and this whole chapter, for that matter.**

 **And I couldn't just help but make it more heartwarming, what with Dedede's inner monologue, the added dialogue… oh, and Kirby taking his hand at the end, too. When I said 'I wanted to capture the moment where Kirby and Dedede's relationship start changing', I meant it. I think it really puts into perspective how close the two (plus Dee) are in my later** Make a Friend **fics, and I hope the scene was worth the wait.**

 **It's a miracle this chapter both A) didn't take too long and B) doesn't have a word count through the roof. I guess that proves I** _ **can**_ **pace myself! …during very,** _ **very**_ **specific times. *nervous laughter***

 **I wasn't originally going to add in the pre-series and** _ **Crystal Shards**_ **flashback sequences, but seeing as how I wanted this chapter to be a little more introspective… I believe they work well enough. An extra assortment of backstory here and there doesn't hurt at all, I think. (Also, there's a little Adeleine in here – and more Adeleine is always good around here!)**

 **Oh, and yes – I'm retconning Dee so that he's always had the bandana. My universe, my rules!**

 **Well, that's all for now. Thanks for reading, and I'll see you next time!**


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